Speech #930041632

If this change is adopted. it will substantially aid employers in making bona fide inquiries without the necessity of additional recordkeeping on their part. In summary. there are two primary goals which this legislation seeks to accomplish. First. the bill will eliminate the intolerable situation under current law which enables employers to hire and 14182 Col exploit illegal aliens without fear of penalties and without regard for those American workers who are displaced or are already unemployed. It should be emphasized that this legislation is not intended as a punitive measure and it is not our desire to make criminals of employers. The committee believes that by and large most employers are lawabiding individuals and that when it becomes known that it is a violation of Federal law to knowingly employ illegal aliens. most employers will immediately discontinue this practice. Furthermore. the Committee is of the opinion that administrative fines will provide an additional deterrent and that criminal penalties should be imposed only upon those unscrupulous employers who habitually hire illegal aliens. It should also be mentioned that we have avoided imposing any additional criminal penalties on the alien who enters illegally and obtains employment or on the nonimmigrant who accepts unauthorized employment. The committee felt that additional penalties would serve no useful purpose since past experience has clearly demonstrated that such penalties have not effectively deterred those unfortunate individuals who illegally enter the United States for the sole purpose of providing necessities for themselves and their families. Furthermore. since the courts are already seriously backlogged with serious criminal cases. the U.S. attorneys offices are reluctant to prosecute cases of illegal entry and even when prosecutions are instituted. convictions are infrequent. Another provision of this bill. section 1. would allow qualified and admissible natives of the Western Hemisphere to adjust their status from a nonimmigrant to an immigrant without leaving the United States to obtain an immigration visa. This relief is presently available to natives of the Eastern Hemisphere and the committee believes that it should also be made available to Western Hemisphere natives. This section would. however. deny adjustment of status to aliens--other than immediate relativeswho have accepted unauthorized employment. In summary. this bill is the result of long hours of serious study and deliberation and in preparing this legislation careful consideration has been given to the budgetary problems confronting the Immigration and Naturalization Service as well as the practical limitations on our overburdened judicial system. I. therefore. urge my colleagues to support this necessary legislation.