Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Chairman Bob Good (R-VA) delivered the following remarks, as prepared for delivery, at a hearing titled "The Impact of Biden's Open Border on the American Workforce":

"America’s workforce and economy cannot flourish with the unchecked, unfettered, illegal immigration that is Biden’s Border Invasion. Through this hearing today, I intend to give the American workforce a voice by holding Democrats accountable for their disastrous open border policies. 

"There has never been a country more welcoming than America. Our legal immigration process has allowed millions of immigrants to achieve the American Dream for their families---approximately one million per year on average. Our country has a unique American identity, a fact that is upheld and re-enforced with a robust, merit-based, citizenship process; and a respect for the rule of law. 

"Under President Biden, American jobs are threatened. Illegal aliens are competing against Americans for American jobs. Illegal workers provide many advantages for some employers, since they cost zero additional dollars in taxes, and often accept lower wages for more work. 

"American taxpayer dollars are also at stake. Americans pay for each border crossing, whether it’s through government-purchased iPhones, stays in four-star NYC hotels, or $450,000 monetary settlements—all of which are happening as part of the Democrat plan to incentivize more mass illegal immigration.

"These expenditures are in addition to the commonly accepted costs that illegal aliens impose on American society, by participation in our education and health care systems. Overall, illegal immigration is estimated to cost taxpayers $150.7 billion per year. 

"Real wages for the working class have collapsed, thanks to the policies of the Biden administration. Under Trump, blue collar real wages rose 5.6 percent. Under Biden, blue-collar real wages have fallen 2.1 percent. 

"Bidenflation is largely responsible for the economic hardship middle-class Americans are dealing with. Additionally, the decline of blue-collar wages is significantly affected by seven million illegal aliens pouring across the border during this administration. 

"Liberal Democrats used to recognize the depressing effect of illegal immigration on American wages. Bill Clinton constructed portions of the border wall in an attempt to curb illegal immigration during his time in office. The Obama-Biden administration built over 100 miles of border wall during its tenure. Where are those liberal ideas now? Why has the other side completely abandoned all hope of making our border secure? 

"Why the Democrat party has decided to turn its back on America’s working class and taxpayers is the political question of our time. I don’t expect to answer it with today’s hearing, but I do hope to explain some of the dire economic consequences of Democrat policies for our rapidly transforming country."

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