We literally held hearings from border to border and coast to coast. We listened to representatives of business. farmers. labor unions. and chicanos. as well as the various affected government agencies. I was opposed at the outset of our hearings to proposals which would have imposed an immediate criminal penalty on employers who would hire illegal aliens. because I felt that Was too drastic and was using the criminal laws to affect what is basically a civil problem. I believe the committee has come up with a bill which is very carefully drawn. which has many. many safeguards. I believe any employer who conscientiously wants to comply with the law will have no trouble with this bill. The problem is going to beand that is the focus of this billwith the employer who knowingly. wilfully and deliberately hires illegal immigrants because he wants to exploit their condition and pay substandard wages. It is true. as the gentleman from Indiana pointed out. that the root of this problem lies in the depressed economic conditions in other countries. particularly those bordering us on the south. I believe the Congress has to consider that in another context. but our first obligation. after all. is to look after our own citizens and the people who are here lawfully.
Keywords matched
illegal immigrants illegal aliens