Shocker alert, it’s not you.
Whom does a Congressman serve? Is it his or her own constituents back home or the power elites and special interests who swarm through the corridors of Capitol Hill?
Over the course of his first months in office freshman Congressman Denver Riggleman has left a trail of votes which unambiguously answers this question.
On January 22 Riggleman voted for H.J. Resolution 31. This allows DHS to vastly increase H2B visas for foreign nationals. It’s important to note that these are workers for non-agricultural labor, not seasonal workers for picking crops. The bill also reduces detention bed funding for ICE and prevents the hiring of new ICE agents.
On March 13 Riggleman voted for H.R. 1740 which establishes a new foreign worker visa category for construction workers. These visas are for a three year initial period with up to two consecutive periods of authorized presence. It allows for up to 85,000 per year.
On July 10 Riggleman voted for H.R. 1044, the so-called Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act. Virginians wonder why Riggleman never offered an alternate bill, perhaps titled the Fairness for High Skilled Americans Act.
In any case, the bill he did vote for eliminates per country caps on these visas. It’s estimated this bill will immediately add 300,000 workers from India. Since most of these workers compete in STEM and IT fields, this puts huge downward pressure on job opportunities for American workers in these fields as well as depressing wages across the board.
Altogether, Riggleman’s votes facilitate the importation of more than a half million foreign workers per year (millions over the coming decade) to directly compete with our own neighbors and families for good paying jobs across a wide variety of employment sectors.
Lets recall that these huge numbers are in addition to the 1,100,000 already entering through legal immigration every year.
H.R. 1044 is sponsored by Zoe Lofren, the ultra-liberal Democrat from California’s Silicon Valley.
Just weeks after his swearing in, on February 7, Riggleman became one of its earliest co-sponsors. Why is the Republican congressman from the 5th district of Virginia doing the bidding of Democrat Zoe Lofgren’s Silicon Valley masters of the universe?
In effect this vote constitutes a huge wealth transfer from US citizens (in the form of job displacement and depressed wages) to Silicon Valley billionaires.
President Trump ran on a platform of American jobs for American workers. In recent rallies across the country the president has repeated this clarion call. It appears Mr Riggeman has not heard the message. But he’s hearing from his constituents now.
In a recent article in The Hill, it’s revealed Riggleman will be challenged for the 5th district Republican nomination by Bob Good, a supervisor from Campbell County and fundraiser at Liberty University. Primary voters or delegates to a convention (as determined by the Republican Party of the district) will have a clear choice. As clear as any in recent times.
