Speech #920282694

Chairman. H.R. 16188 is directed toward a problem of increasing magnitudeone that is nationwide in scope and not limited to the border areas in the Southwest. That problem is the presence of between 1 and 2 million illegal aliens in the United States. most of whom are employed. While the majority are from Mexico. our committee found in its hearings. held in cities the length and breadth of the country. that illegal aliens have entered into labor markets in every section. They are employed in all phases of industry and the service trades as well as agriculture. Every illegal alien occupying a job means a lost job opportunity for a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Even my own inland Sixth Congressional District. in northwest Iowa. just about as far from the various borders as you can get. has not been immune from this problem. and it is a problem of growing magnitude. The Immigration and Naturalization Service district office at Omaha. Nebr.. responsible for enforcing the immigration laws throughout both Iowa and Nebraska. apprehended 65 illegal aliens in those two States in the year ending June 30. 1965. Total apprehensions by that district office in Iowa and Nebraska have increased by leaps and bounds over the years until during the fiscal year ending June 30. 1972. 771 illegal aliens were apprehended. A total of 2.770 illegal aliens were apprehended by the Omaha INS office in the 8 years ending June 30 of this year. and 93 more were apprehended in July and 61 more in August. Although some of these were apprehended on Interstate 80 on the way to jobs in the Chicago area. most of them were taken into custody by the Immigration and Naturalization Service inspectors upon their visiting various farms and industries and finding these persons working illegally. While much of the credit for this record of apprehensions deservedly belongs to the three inspectors working out of the Omaha office. joined this summer by an inspector trainee. with the district director and deputy director frequently lending a hand. this record of increasing apprehensions also reflects the increasing seriousness of the problem of illegal aliens working in competition with legal immigrants and American citizens at a time of relatively high unemployment. The Immigration and Naturalization Service would be among the first to admit that the number apprehended may be only the tip of the iceberg of the total number of illegal aliens in the area. The INS needs the additional tools provided by this bill. Additionally. we found that illegal aliens impose a heavy drain upon our local educational. welfare. and health services. We were also informed that our balance of payments is unfavorably affected by the large aggregate of funds sent out of the country by these aliens. Our hearings established that the illegal aliens are often exploited by unscrupulous employers on the farms and in the factorypaid minimum wages. often worked overtime without pay. denied vacations. and other benefits. The constant threat of disclosure of his illegal status. renders the alien defenseless against exploitation. not only by his employer. but by the landlord. the retaller he buys from. by everyone he must depend upon. In one instance we were told of an epidemic spread of disease because the illegal aliens in the community were afraid to seek treatment for fear their status would be revealed. Fearful that he will be apprehended if he reports any income. the illegal alien usually pays no income tax and contributes nothing toward social security or unemployment funds. Although he works at gainful employment. he does not register for the Selective Service as does the legal immigrant and the American citizen. and so escapes military service. He avoids the census taker. and so the population of an area is not accurately reflected in the census and in the allocation of educational. health. and other services to that area in accordance with formulae based on census statistics. Afraid to place his earnings from illegal employment in any bank because he fears this would result in his illegal status being detected by the Internal Revenue Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. the illegal alien often hoards his wages in cash. and is therefore easy prey for thieves and confidence menagain. because of his illegal status. he is reluctant to report the crime and his losses to law enforcement authorities. The illegal alien is especially susceptible to blackmailnot only for money. but also for service as an accomplice in crime. Presently there is no great incentive for the employer to inquire into the citizenship or alien status of prospective employees. H.R. 16188 sets forth an elaborate threestep procedure for the imposition of sanctions on employers who knowingly employ aliens illegally in the United States. Under the proposed bill. the Attorney General. after receiving evidence that a violation had occurred. would notify the apparent violator of the apparent violation. If the apparent violator continued to engage in apparently violative acts. the Attorney General would then formally determine whether there had actually been a violation. This determination would be made through a civil proceeding conducted before an officer of the Immigration and Naturalization Service designated for this purpose. Upon a finding that the individual had committed a violation. the Attorney General would then assess a civil penalty of up to $500. A subsequent violation by a person against whom a civil penalty had been assessed would be a misdemeanor and conviction therefore would subject the violator to a maximum punishment of 1 years imprisonment or a fine of $1.000. or both. Thus H.R. 16188 would specifically put employers on. notice that the employment of illegal aliens is proscribed. The bill contains a proviso that enables employers or agents to avoid violations of the statute if they make a bona fide inquiry. in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Attorney General. whether the prospective employee is a citizen or an alien authorized to work. Other provisions of the bill provide for the forfeiture of vehicles used in smuggling and transporting illegal aliens. and for the loss of the right of a nonimmigrant to adjust his statusto permanent resident when a visa is availableif he has taken unauthorized employment. This is a good bill which will make possible substantial progress toward elimination of the problem of illegal employment. With all employers on notice of the new law. illegal aliens in this country will find employment opportunities drastically reduced. and those aliens across the borders will have far less incentive to enter the United States illegally. I urge favorable action upon the bill.