Speech #920282590

In fact. I do not think It goes far enough. The primary purpose of H.R. 16188 is to make it an offense to knowingly hire illegal aliens. It is estimated that there are presently between 1 and 2 million aliens illegally in the United States. The situation appears to be getting worse. Large numbers of illegal aliens contribute to problems such as unemployment. depressed wages. and increased welfare costs. The Judiciary Committee has concluded that many illegal aliens enter seeking favorable employment opportunities in the United States. The goal of this bill is to eliminate the availability of jobs. thereby removing part of the economic incentive which attracts the illegal alien to the United States. This bill makes it unlawful to knowingly employ illegal aliens. It establishes a threestep procedure for the imposition of sanctions against employers who hire illegal aliens. First. for a first violation. the employer gets a citation informing him of the apparent violation. second. if the employer subsequentlyviolates the act within 2 years after receiving the citation. he may be fined by the Attorney General not more than $500 for each alien. and. third. if the employer violates the law again following imposition of the fine. he is then subject to a $1.000 fine and/or a 1year prison term for each alien. The cost of this bill is estimated at $298.400 per year. for increased funds for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It Is hoped that the longrange effect of this bill will be to save money. The committee report contains a letter from the Justice Department generally favoring this bill. I should like to see the penalties made more strict rather than just giving a citation. because in my opinion 90 percent of the employers. when they hire an illegal alien. know that the individual is an illegal alien. In restaurants all over the United States. I am satisfied that the employer knows that the individual is an illegal alien. I imagine that many of you receive the same type of letter I have when the Immigration Department has caught up with the chef or particular expert salad maker. and he is ordered to return home. then you get a letter from the employer stating he cannot possibly replace this man. and please put in a private bill so that he can be kept here in the United States. Back in 1970. I wrote to the Immigration Department in Los Angeles and asked them to check into the situation for me. Under date of April 17. 1970. I received a letter from the District Director in which he stated: At the present. this office has on file hundreds of similar recent reports relating to aliens illegally in the United States and employed in Industry throughout the Los Angeles area.