What numerical level of immigration is good for the people of the United States? That’s the question being asked by a group that argues it’s unfair to continue high immigration when so many Americans need jobs.
Roy Beck is founder and president of NumbersUSA. He recalls that during the 2016 presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald Trump made immigration one of his bedrock campaign issues. And Beck argues that since taking office, President Trump has done a great deal to improve border enforcement, including funding construction for a border wall and taking steps to stop the massive flow of refugees across the southern border.
But there is much more to be done, says Beck. He points out that, for the most part, immigration has been relegated to the back burner; and in fact, it wasn’t a topic during the first presidential debate in Cleveland Tuesday night.
The NumbersUSA founder admits he’s disappointed that the media is largely ignoring the immigration issue during this presidential election cycle, because he contends immigration is even more of an issue now than it was four years ago.
“… We had a pretty good economy [in 2016], but right now we have the pandemic economy. We’ve got 30-million Americans who are [receiving] unemployment benefits,” he tells OneNewsNow. “So, does it make sense, is it fair to continue high immigration when so many Americans need jobs? You’re not hearing that talked about much.”
To address the issue, NumbersUSA has once again launched a massive national TV and social media campaign.
“… Back in the 1990s, we began running ads during congressional campaigns [and] presidential campaigns to insert immigration issues that weren’t being addressed in the national media – and really, that’s the key reason to spend the kind of money we do on ads,” he explains.
“If everybody’s talking about something, that’s great – but unlike 2016, you don’t hear much about immigration right now. And so we’re having to pay to get immigration into the public sphere.”
With the aid of the ad campaign, Beck hopes immigration will be a topic in future debates.
