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Home Page > News > Anti-immigrant group Numbers USA mobilizes to stop Irish visa bill

Anti-immigrant group Numbers USA mobilizes to stop Irish visa bill

Calls on its million plus members to oppose Senator Brown legislation

NIALL O'DOWD,

IrishCentral Founder

Published Friday, February 10, 2012, 7:38 AM

Updated Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 5:51 PM

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Numbers USA, the anti-immigrant group, has mobilized to stop the Irish E3 visa bill passing through the senate

Photo by restorefairness.org

In a major development, Numbers USA, the anti-immigrant group, has mobilized to stop the Irish E3 visa bill passing through the senate.

The organization sent an email to its one million plus membership on Thursday targeting the Irish visa bill. Their actions came after both the Boston Globe and Boston Herald reported that Senator Scott Brown had stated that he was close to getting the Irish visa bill through the senate.

The bill would allow up to 10,500 non immigrant visas a year from Ireland. It is based on similar legislation that allows similar amounts of Australian visas.

Numbers USA is one of the largest anti-immigrant groups and claims over one million members. They urged their members to write to their senators.

The suggested copy they sent reads:“We don't support bills that increase foreign workers, particularly those that favor one nationality over another. That's what Sen. Brown's E-3 visa bill is and we hope you will oppose it.

“The U.S. isn't expected to reach full employment again for a number of years. We need more jobs, not more workers. Nevertheless, Sen. Brown's bill would increase legal immigration by 10,500 visas every year.

“Sen. Brown's bill is just for Irish workers, no other group would be eligible. There is no justification for this kind of favoritism either.

“Sen. Brown's bill is a perfect example of how our immigration system rarely considers labor market situations. Rather, it is used by selfish politicians as a special give away to special interest groups.

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Numbers USA is a controversial organization that has been accused of having racist roots.

The Southern Poverty Law Center stated “Numbers USA is...part of a network of restrictionist organizations conceived and created by John Tanton, the “puppeteer” of the nativist movement and a man with deep racist roots...Tanton has for decades been at the heart of the white nationalist scene.

He has met with leading white supremacists, promoted anti-Semitic ideas, and associated closely with the leaders of a eugenicist foundation once described by a leading newspaper as a “neo-Nazi organization.

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mopickelly | Mar 12, 2012, 02:06 PM EDT

Numbers-USA is not anti-immigrant! It IS anti- illegal immigrant and against irrational importation of legal immigrants when theUSA is not sufficiently able to take of its own citizens and we are trillions of dollars in debt. Immigrants should benefit a country, not become an additional strain on the infrastructure of that country. I see no value in allowing more immigration to compete with unemployed American workers.

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occassio | Feb 15, 2012, 04:58 PM EST

The loss of jobs in America is not the fault of immigrants, illegal or otherwise, nor is it the fault of the Irish visa program. The fault lay with the manufacturing sector and other companies who began, at least 30 years ago, to close down plants and businesses and outsource the work to countries who had little or no labor laws and who were not burdened with the responsibility of providing a living wage and other forms of security for their workers. No insurance, no 40-hour work week, no overtime pay, no retirement, no medical, no dental, no safe working conditions, but profit abounding. Note the latest kerfuffle about Apple in China. This practice still continues and has decimated the job market and been devastating for workers who found themselves jobless and in dire straights after working for years with these companies. While the repercussions weren't noticed when the economy was good, the recent recession along with exorbitant amounts of money spent on war and various tax cuts brings it to the economic forefront. Politicians or others blaming illegal immigrants and extension of Irish visa program are using these issues as red herrings to further their own agendas. A reading of the history of labor laws and corporate practices, will make evident on whose shoulders the blame should be placed – not on the shoulders if illegal immigrants and extension of visas for Irish – but with corporations who profited at the expense of their employees and took advantage of the poor and underdeveloped countries where they chose to off-shore. Read the history and get the facts.

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joycean | Feb 14, 2012, 10:46 AM EST

MaryM, I agree. My neice has an Ivy League education and 2 Masters dgrees and is unable to find a decent job. Her fiance has a PhD. from the University of Durham, and is looking for something other than a temporary position. My brother, who is an award winning scientist with patents to his credit and multiple degrees, was forced into early retirement. My sister, with an advanced degree from Harvard was let go. We also know people who are skilled tradesmen who are living from day-to-day. These are NOT uneducated, unskilled laborers; in fact, they are as well educated or better than anyone in Ireland.

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MaryM232 | Feb 13, 2012, 11:31 PM EST

Springfield9, the large percentage of the US unemployed are citizens, and they go from the skilled trades all the way up to highly educated and degreed professionals. The US doesn't have a worker or skills shortage, that is a lie. We don't need cheap Irish foreign labor any more than we need Mexican, Indian or any other cheap foreign labor. This woman of Irish ancestry was proud to call her two senators, and congressman, and call & email other senators & congresspeople, and give them an earfull of the hell fire, my Irish grandmother would have, were she still alive. US immigration laws are to protect US citizen workers, and they need to be enforced. We're not going to let the rest of the world displace us any longer. Why don't you spend your time fighting to prevent the displacement of Irish citizen workers in Ireland, instead of seeking to spread that foul disease that reduced Ireland to what it is today?

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Curitiba | Feb 13, 2012, 07:02 PM EST

Sorry Ciara, I don't believe in any Humanist stuff, so it's no good appealing to my conscience on that level. I suppose you could fit them all into Ireland quite comfortably. I am led to believe you can fit the entire population of the world standing shoulder to shoulder on the Isle of Man, so I guess you are right. 5 billion New Irish.

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ciaradexy | Feb 13, 2012, 12:36 PM EST

Youre right Georgie, we'll just leave them there to die yeah? Im aware you dont have a conscience but I do and if someone genuinely needs help then we should offer it as it was offered to the Irish when the Irish needed it.

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GeorgeDillon | Feb 13, 2012, 10:02 AM EST

springfield--That's a bad deal for Ireland. They send us 10k university graduates, while they import tens of thousands of illiterates and semiliterates from Asia and Africa?

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Springfield9 | Feb 13, 2012, 08:19 AM EST

Unemployment is a serious problem. However, if you look carefully, you discover a large portion of that segment is UNEDUCATED and cannot speak English. The 10,500 visas would bring UNIVERSITY educated people. In that light, if you are a High School Graduate dolt - yes, you would be in trouble.

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Springfield9 | Feb 13, 2012, 08:12 AM EST

@johnvalentine - Brown is creating a a legal immigration visa. You have the Irish mixed up with the Mexicans, Guatamalans, Salvadorians, etc. Time for your meds.

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Springfield9 | Feb 13, 2012, 08:08 AM EST

Someone please ask Mr. Stanton what other Nationality sent 125,000 men to die preserving the Union?

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sirpeter | Feb 13, 2012, 04:50 AM EST

Georgie Boy.Show me evidence that St Vincent de Paul pay court fines for shoplifters, petty thieves, fraudsters etc. St Vincent de Paul is there to help poor people and this helps society as a whole.You know you can go to jail for not paying a road tax fine or a small debt of 50 Euro?Is it right that the Irish taxpayer pays out a couple of thousand euro to process a person and keep him/her in jail for a few days.The judge has no choice.The law has to be seen to be implemented. If they do pay a fine it's probably for first offenders who can't pay a small fine.A person deserving help that has come to the St Vincent de Paul attention in court.Sounds like a good idea to me if they do that.But you can't see how it saves us money in the long run can you Georgina?

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GeorgeDillon | Feb 13, 2012, 02:31 AM EST

So curdexter wants to import a million foreign migrants into Ireland. Any preference for origin, curdexter? China? A million certainly won't be missed. Islamic countries? You'd better get your burkha out. Africa? Free female circumcisions in Irish hospitals!

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johntvalentine | Feb 12, 2012, 11:40 PM EST

I love the history of Ireland. I love the Irish. One doesn't need to be a rocket scientist. One only needs to have common sense, to see that NUMBERS U.S.A. has the very heart of our beloved America in mind. Come to our beloved America but never come ILLEGALLY. America is a land of laws. LEGAL, is us our byword. God in Heaven, gave our beloved America it's sacred Constitution. Three cheers for Numbers U.S.A.

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allentown | Feb 12, 2012, 07:53 PM EST

69 posters on this topic and they are still coming in. Boy, does Niall know how to get our blood boiling.

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ciaradexy | Feb 12, 2012, 06:33 PM EST

Sorry, that should be over 2 million!

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