Speech #970224688

Mr. Speaker. the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1982 has a Senate counterpart. S. 2222. which is sponsored by Senator ALAN K. SIMPSON. chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Policy. Senator SIMPSON is one of the most knowledgeable people in the country about immigration and refugee matters. As a member of the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy and as chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee. he has studied all aspects of the immigration matter from every possible perspective. Senator SIMPSON has come to the same conclusion as I have about the best method of controlling illegal immigration to this countrypenalties against employers who knowingly hire undocumented workers. There simply is no other workable alternative. Undocumented workers come here to get jobs. That is the lure. that is the magnet. We have to end that lure. turn off that magnet. by making it illegal for employers knowingly to hire those who do not have permission to be in this country. In his usual straightforward and sensible fashion. AL SIMPSON made the strongest case possible for penalties against employers who knowingly hire undocumented aliens in the New York Times earlier this week. He made the point. which has become obvious to all those who have studied the immigration issue in great detail. that our immigration reform bill contains a simple straightforward employer sanctions provision which protects both employers and employees. In the early 1970s. under the leadership of Chairman PETER W. RODINO.