Senate Concurrent Resolution 505

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO MEMORIALIZE CONGRESS TO ASSIST THE STATES IN RESPONDING TO THE OVERWHELMING PROBLEM OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

WHEREAS, federal jobs policy and immigrations laws and proposals are leading America on a path to destruction; and

WHEREAS, our borders are porous, with no political will to control the borders; and

WHEREAS, the Border Patrol apprehends 400,000 illegal aliens per year, which is only 20-35% of the numbers thought to be illegally entering the country every year; and

WHEREAS, the amnesty granted to 3.5 million illegal aliens during President Reagan's administration in 1986 only intensified unlawful entry into the United States; and

WHEREAS, without border control, President Bush's plan will again encourage massive waves of illegal immigrants waiting on another amnesty plan while multiplying the unemployment and displacement of United States workers; and

WHEREAS, American workers have no bargaining power to improve their working conditions and pay when an employer can exploit an unlimited supply of foreign workers; and

WHEREAS, our population is exploding because of immigration and will grow dramatically in the next 50 years, according to United States Census Bureau estimates, from the current total of 288 million to 400 million by the year 2050; manufacturing and high-tech jobs are being exported to foreign nations at the same time as we open our borders to the unemployed and uneducated from those same countries; and

WHEREAS, these policies and lack of action have displaced more than 900,000 American workers, with thousands more jobs having been outsourced to foreign countries; and

WHEREAS, in Mississippi there is an estimated population of over 30,000 illegal aliens, while over 93,000 of our citizens are not employed; and

WHEREAS, Mississippi's unemployment rate is 6.7% with 500,000 people living below the federal poverty level; and

WHEREAS, nationally and statewide, illegal aliens are displacing American workers by accepting lower wages; legal workers make 11% less when in competition with illegal workers; and

WHEREAS, our unemployed workers, those Mississippians who cannot find work, along with unemployed illegal aliens, greatly increase the welfare rolls, placing an additional burden on our taxpayers; over one-third (1/3) of Mississippians, or 900,000 people, are on Medicaid; approximately 50% receive some sort of public assistance; and

WHEREAS, the trend of referring to the illegals as "undocumented workers" camouflages the fact that these people have committed a felony by illegally entering our country, and disguises the fact that a large percentage of the "willing workers" actually constitute only a liability to our corrections, welfare and health care systems; and

WHEREAS, 70% of Americans are in favor of strictly enforcing our current laws concerning illegal immigration:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby memorialize Congress to come to the aid of the states in dealing with the 8 million illegal aliens currently in this country.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Congress is urged to defeat legislation that shifts federal enforcement costs to the states, or that imposes sanctions, provides inadequate training, preempts state statutes, or jeopardizes state and local law enforcement crime investigations.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Mississippi congressional delegation.