March 15, 2021

Dear Republican Members of Congress,

On behalf of the Federation for American Immigration Reform’s

(FAIR) more than 3 million members and supporters nationwide, I
wanted to confirm my organization’s opposition to H.R. 1603 – the
Farm Workforce Modernization Act amnesty – and explain why it
is absolutely essential for Republican lawmakers to check their
support at the door and unify against amnesty as a conference.

As you know, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act passed in

the 116th Congress with 34 Republicans voting alongside nearly
every Democrat. However, casting the same vote in the 117th
Congress would be even more unacceptable, as the timing could
not be worse. Given the current surge of illegal aliens at the border,
paired with the continuing COVID-19 health and economic crisis,
there is no need to increase the flow of guestworkers and grant
amnesty under the guise of modernizing a deeply flawed system.

Simply put, passing such a bill at this time is equivalent to

repainting a house when it is on fire. Border Patrol apprehended
nearly 397,000 illegal aliens at the southwest border in the first
five months of Fiscal Year 2021. For reference, Border Patrol
apprehended just 458,000 illegal aliens in all of Fiscal Year 2020.
Throughout his campaign and since taking office, President Biden
made impossible promises, chief among them the plan to put all
illegal aliens on a pathway to citizenship. The results of these
irresponsible words are on full display for the world to see: a
burgeoning crisis on our border, which key members of his
administration refuse to acknowledge as anything more than a
“challenge.” The passage of any amnesty bill will make this ten
times worse.

Even under the best of circumstances, FAIR cannot and will not
support this bill for a variety of reasons. But during this crisis, with
so many Americans still unemployed, it makes little sense to
provide the Democrats, President Biden, and businesses reliant on
cheap foreign labor with misguided immigration reforms as our
borders are being overrun. It is important for Republicans to
remain united – on both policy and politics – against the
immigration machinations of the open-borders Democratic
majority.
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It is no mistake that Speaker Pelosi has essentially paired H.R. 1603 with the American
Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 6) amnesty. Taken together, both H.R. 6 and H.R. 1603
give Democrats the policy victories they crave – amnesty for illegal aliens without
addressing the current crisis. Voting in favor of H.R. 1603 in the midst of the current
border crisis is akin to supporting President Biden’s broader vision to amnesty every
illegal alien in the United States.

Therefore I ask that you check your support for this bill at the door, at least until the crisis
is addressed. We’ll have a hearty debate then.

Sincerely,

Dan Stein
President
Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)