Speech #970225330

The first tool of a totalitarian system is a domestic passport. let us not have them in our beloved land. I understand why such a provision is necessary in the scheme set forth in S. It is basic that the key to any program of controlled immigration is the ability to limit entry to lawful means. Obviously. any system of allocating fairly the right to immigrate to the United States from other countries depends upon assuring that persons will use only the system of lawful immigration and not be able to resort successfully to unlawful ways of entering and remaining in the United States. S. 2222 seeks to obtain control over illegal immigration first by making it unlawful to hire an illegal alien or an alien unauthorized to work. Under such an approach. it is elementary that employers have an affirmative defense. The bill provides such a defense through the verification system which involves statements made under penalty of perjury plus assorted identification documents. pending the development of a socalled secure verification system. I would approach the problem of employers hiring undocumented workers differently. I do not think employers should be made to be immigration policemen. But for the purposes of this discussion I concede that S. 2222. if passed. will contain a provision making it against the law to hire an alien unauthorized to work in the United States. Having made that assumption. it appears adequate to me to limit the bills requirement for verification to the system proposed in section 101(b) of the bill.