<p>Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said during an interview over the weekend that the U.S. needs to crack down on illegal immigration but also needs to have legal immigration.</p>
<p>Lawler&#8217;s remarks, which he made during a Sunday interview on ABC News, come after intense debate erupted on social media about legal immigration, specifically surrounding high-skilled foreign labor.</p>
<p>&#8220;Number one, we all agree we need to secure the border,&#8221; Lawler said on &#8220;This Week.&#8221; &#8220;We’ve had a disaster under Joe Biden, 10.5 million migrants flood into the country. Billions of dollars wasted of taxpayer money in New York, for instance, on free housing, clothing, food, education and healthcare for illegal immigrants. So the current system is broken. We need to secure the border. We all agree with that. That has to be priority number one.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;But here&#8217;s a reality that we have to deal with. By the end of the century, we&#8217;re projected to have a population decline,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;Our birthrate in the last 15 years has dropped from two children per woman to 1.66 per woman. So the reality is we have a long-term population decline. We have a workforce shortage of doctors, nurses, engineers, home health aides, ad workers, construction workers, hospitality workers.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;We need immigration. We need an immigration system that works, that is legal, and I fundamentally believe that you need to have a system that is focused on our economic needs as a country and a more merit-based immigration system than anything else,&#8221; he added. &#8220;My wife is an immigrant. I have been through this process with her. It is a fundamentally broken system.&#8221;</p>
<p>He said that it was critical for the growth of the U.S. economy to have the H-1B visa program.</p>
<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no question we want an America in which Americans are employed, in which they are able to fill the needs of our workforce, which means we need to revamp our education system, our K-12 system,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We need vocational schools. We need to get kids on an earlier STEM trajectory so that they are becoming the engineers of tomorrow. But the fact is, India is producing a significant number more of engineers than we are. So it&#8217;s both a function of fixing our education system and having a legal immigration system that works.&#8221;</p>
<p>WATCH:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">As Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy spar with some Trump supporters over support for H-1B work visas, GOP Rep. Mike Lawler tells <a href="https://twitter.com/jonkarl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JonKarl</a> that the visa program is “something that has obviously been beneficial to our economy.” <a href="https://t.co/6h9W3NP2Po">https://t.co/6h9W3NP2Po</a> <a href="https://t.co/BtORRmCvO0">pic.twitter.com/BtORRmCvO0</a></p>
<p>— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThisWeekABC/status/1873390201340391558?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 29, 2024</a></p></blockquote>

<script async src="https://www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script><div data-widget-host="revcontent" data-pub-id="165152" data-widget-id="290588"></div><script src="https://delivery.revcontent.com/165152/290588/widget.js"></script>

Congressman Lawler: U.S. Needs Secure Border And Legal Immigration

Nearly 24 Hours After The Polls Closed, California Is Still Counting Votes

California Races Come Into Focus As First Votes Pour In

Kid Rock Delivers Memorial Day Reminder About The Cost Of Freedom

Platner Refuses To Apologize After Mocking Purple Heart Recipient

Trump Makes Tough Call On Don Jr.’s Bahamas Wedding

Scandal-Plagued Journo Who Wrote Hit Piece On Daily Wire Has Old Ties To Mamdani

News

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

Media

A video goes viral showing a baby being refused his mother by two gay "dads". This is just the tip of the iceberg, which is why we will have an important discussion today about surrogacy. 

Hour 1

The Matt Walsh Show

Ep. 1765 - This Video Is One Of The Worst Things I've Seen In A Long Time 

The Strait of Hormuz officially opens for business (kind of), the Pope makes “shocking” comments on immigration, and President Trump promises UFO disclosure at TPUSA. 


The Michael Knowles Show

Ep. 1956 -  Pope Leo's "SHOCKING" Immigration Comments EXPLAINED

A false miscreed has corrupted our leadership class.


The Andrew Klavan Show

Ep. 1275 - Dumb, Dumber and Progressive

President Trump announces a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, a murder-suicide involving former Democratic Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shakes Virginia, and France and Britain hold a conference to secure the Strait of Hormuz – after the Iranian conflict ends. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.

- - -

Ep. 2738

- - -

Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3

- - -

Today's Sponsors:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text 'WIRE' to 83848 to learn more.

Pocket Hose - Text MORNING to 64000 to get a FREE pocket pivot and their 10-pattern sprayer with the purchase of ANY size Copper Head hose. Message and data rates may apply.

Morning Wire

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26

U.S. Expands Hormuz Blockade & VA Fairfax Deaths Investigated | 4.17.26 [Member Exclusive]

A ceasefire goes into effect between Israel and Lebanon, a tragic murder-suicide rocks Virginia, and Dairy Queen deploys AI in the drive-thru. Get the facts first with Evening Wire.
- - -
Ep. 2737
- - -
Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3 
- - -
Today’s Sponsor:

Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text “WIRE” to 83848 to learn more.


Menu

— News —

Congressman Lawler: U.S. Needs Secure Border And Legal Immigration