New Bill Would Close Loophole That Lets Millions Of Illegals Work In United States

A Texas Republican introduced legislation Tuesday that he says would protect millions of American jobs from illegal aliens. 

Congressman Brandon Gill’s “Domestic Jobs Protection Act” would strip the executive branch of authority to grant work authorization to illegal aliens. Gill said that his bill would stop future administrations from using federal law to hand out jobs to people who illegally crossed into the United States. 

“President Trump has done more for American workers and their families than any other president,” Gill told The Daily Wire. “It is crucial that we prevent any future administrations from doing anything to stand in the way of their success, including using work permits to usher in more illegal immigration.” 

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Department of Homeland Security can issue work employment authorization documents to illegal aliens who have been given temporary protected status, are part of the DACA program, or are part of other similar initiatives. Gill’s office said that this work authorization creates a “powerful jobs magnet” for illegal immigration. 

Former President Joe Biden gave temporary protected status to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants from Venezuela, El Salvador, Ukraine, and Sudan. This status allowed them to seek work authorization from the government.

The Domestic Jobs Protection Act would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to ensure that “no future administration can exploit discretionary work permits to revive DACA-style programs or expand illegal immigration at the expense of American workers,” according to Gill’s office. 

The current definition of unauthorized alien “with respect to the employment of an alien at a particular time” in the legal code is “that the alien is not at that time either (A) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or (B) authorized to be so employed by this chapter or by the Attorney General.”

Since the Immigration and Nationality Act took effect, the authority to grant employment authorization documents has transitioned from the attorney general to the Department of Homeland Security.

Gill’s bill would remove the line of text that reads “or by the attorney general” to ensure that only Congress can decide who receives work authorization.