Speech #970225463

My amendment will remedy this situation and provide farmers and farmworkers the protections inherent in the Constitution. I urge my colleagues to consider carefully the current operations of the INS and examine the merits of my proposal. Immigration Service statistics show us that 8 percent of the illegal aliens employed in the United States are working in agriculture. However. almost 50 percent of the undocumented alien workers apprehended are agriculture workers. These statistics reflect a bias in the enforcement activities of the INS. They demonstrate that the INS is selectively enforcing the law by going to the industry where it is the simplest and most costeffective to carry out the law. This must be changed. The border patrol argues that because agricultural lands are "open fields." they are beyond the scope of protection of the fourth amendment. Their agents need not obtain consent. a search warrant. or show probable cause that some criminal activity is occurring prior to entering a farmers fields. In short. border patrol agents enter agricultural land at will to search for undocumented workers. However. unlike traditional "open field" cases where law enforcement officers see the socalled "fruit of the crime." the only thing the border patrol witnesses are human beings working in the field. It is not until the INS agents enter the field that an filegal versus legal status can be determined. My amendment does not establish any special protection for farmers it merely guarantees them the same rights and protections enjoyed by every other employer in the Nation.