Breitbart has just published a story alleging that NumbersUSA has revealed an attempt to slip an amnesty provision into Trade Promotion Authority. The article quotes Rosemary Jenks who the Director of Government Relations at Numbers USA. Jerks alleges:

There are three examples within the 10 pages of areas where the U.S. would have to alter current immigration law.

First, on page 4 and 5 of the agreement, roughly 40 industries are listed where potentially the U.S. visa processes would have to change to accommodate the requirements within the agreement.

Jenks explained that under the agreement, the terms don’t have an economic needs based test, which currently U.S. law requires for some types of visa applications in order to show there aren’t American workers available to fill positions.

Secondly, on page 7 of the agreement, it suggests, “The period of processing applications may not exceed 30 days.”

Jenks said this is a massive problem for the U.S. because so many visa applications take longer than 30 days.

“We will not be able to meet those requirements without essentially our government becoming a rubber stamp because it very often takes more than 30 days to process a temporary worker visa,” she said.

Jenks also spotted another issue with the application process.

“The fact that there’s a footnote in this agreement that says that face to face interviews are too burdensome … we’re supposed to be doing face to face interviews with applicants for temporary visas,” she added.

“According to the State Department Consular Officer, it’s the in person interviews that really gives the Consular Officer an opportunity to determine – is this person is a criminal, is this person a terrorist … all of those things are more easily determined when you’re sitting face to face with someone and asking those questions.”

The third issue is present on page 4 of the agreement. It only provides an “[X]” where the number of years would be filled in for the entry or temporary stay.

Jenks explained that for example, with L visas under current U.S. immigration law, the time limit is seven years – so if the agreement were to go beyond seven years, it would change current U.S. law.

Aside from the fact that she gets her information of a draft of the TPP, if Jenks knew anything about economics she should know that in order for the trade to take place it involves having business men and women being able to make personal appearances to sell products or services. Any of the problems she points to can be fixed or ICE has separate divisions that can handle the caseload. Context means everything when it comes to public policy but even if she was right her logic is grounded in dragging down any semblance of human flourishing. Like its cousin groups, NumbersUSA wants to drastically reduce if not eliminate immigration to the United States and will and misrepresent the facts in order to achieve that goal.

The Cato Institute has published a piece responding to nine accusations against TPA, which also addresses accusations about immigration policy. For the purposes of immigration it states:

Various politicians and pundits have sought to arouse suspicions by claiming, among other things, that TPA will permit President Obama to bypass Congress and use the TPP as a backdoor to, among other things, lawlessly expand immigration, curtail gun rights, or restrict Internet freedom. At this point, however, I hope you can see just how ridiculous these claims are. Regardless of the issue, the fact will always remain that nothing can be implemented via the TPP unless Congress agrees to implement it via a formal vote.

This would include things like new work visas (something that U.S. FTAs haven’t actually done for years now) or Internet regulations or gun rules or minimum wages or whatever: it all has to become law before it has any legal force, and the only people making law are Congress (and, again, according to their own procedural rules).

NumbersUSA, the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) and Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) are environmentalist front groups started by a retired ophthalmologist named John Tanton out of Michigan. The groups are financed in large part by a pro-Eugenics organization, the Colcom Foundation, out of Pittsburg Pennsylvania. Tanton’s groups also get donations from two other anti-immigration funding sources, one connected to Colcom, another out of New York City.

In terms of environmentalism, hostility to immigrants and immigration is the next irrational and illogical conclusion in the environmentalist movement’s multi-pronged efforts to rid the planet of human beings. NumbersUSA also cites a CIS research piece linking immigration to man-made climate change which is indicative of the spin they produce in order to achieve the goal of sacrificing human beings to the needs of nature. Immigration and immigrants are an economic and cultural boon to any country wiling to take them. It is small wonder that green-oriented groups, like FAIR, Center for Immigration Studies or NumbersUSA, would seek to derail the passage of Trade Promotion Authority by lying about a provision allowing visas under existing law.