According to the Chamber’s report written by Richard Belzer, consultant and former economist with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), DHS’s plan would affect 2% of legal workers (37,000 to 137,000) in finding jobs and cost approximately $8 billion to $37 billion in lost wages. Belzer also thinks that the crackdown will cost employers money because of the required administrative paperwork and the loss of employees will affect a company’s ability to produce goods.

However, I believe that before analyzing Belzer’s study, one must keep in mind the pro-Amnesty stance taken by the United States Chamber of Commerce. The Federation For American Immigration Reform (FAIR) lists the Chamber as one of the top pro-amnesty groups. Randel Johnson, Chamber VP for labor and immigration stated, “We need a system of “earned targeted adjustment” for undocumented workers that fill vital roles in our economy, which would enable them to achieve legal status.” In other words, lets allow all the illegal aliens already in the U.S. fulfill certain requirements and then we’ll give them AMNESTY.

The Chamber is also a member of the pro-amnesty group Americans for Better Borders (ABB) which has been successful in lobbying for amnesty compromises within immigration law. Their goal is to build a coalition and unite regional businesses, organizations, and trade associations to ensure the efficient flow of goods and people across our borders while addressing national security concerns. Basically, they want to combine amnesty with border security.

U.S. Chamber leaders were among those singing praises on the McCain-Kennedy-Bush Comprehensive (AMNESTY) Immigration Reform Plan. In the Chamber’s Commerce Plan for Immigration Reform they propose four pillars of reform. One of these pillars calls for illegal alien workers as well as carefully screened immigrants to work and reside in the U.S. The third pillar recommends giving legal status to all of the illegal aliens currently residing in America. The Chamber claims “ other alternative proposals, such as mass deportations…are indefensible and impractical. Even if we succeeded…., our economy would slow dramatically.”

The Chamber went even so far as to sponsor meetings with Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Luis Ernesto, in order to lobby for the amnesty legislation and to oppose the border fence legislation. Representative James Sensenbrenner, the House point man on immigration exclaimed, “the U.S. Chamber of Commerce should be ashamed of themselves” for their pro-amnesty actions. “What they are doing is saying that it’s ok to use fake social security numbers. I don’t think that anybody ought to be condoning the use of false documentation. If they continue promoting speeches by the Mexican government officials then maybe they ought to register as an agent of a foreign government under the law.”