Mr. President. the Senate made a terrible mistake last August when we passed the Imnmigration Reform and Control Act of 1982. Indeed. we need to reform our immigration policies. but our best efforts this year produced a crude. discriminatory law which is punitive and very unrealistic. The Congress must look beyond the simple rhetoric which exclaims we must get control of our borders. While I agree that something must be done. I cannot sit by and watch us stumble into the creation of a police state for the enforcement of our immigration laws. The failings of the bill which we passed far outweigh the rhetoric which propelled the measure through our Chamber. The Mexican American community remains opposed to the bill because of its discriminatory employer sanctions. The agricultural community is opposed because it fails to deal realistically with their legitimate reliance on temporary alien workers. And nations all around the globe are looking on in disbelief as we close the door to those who wish to emigrate to this great land of the free. I am ashamed of what we are becoming. What concerns me most is that if the bill is passed and signed into law. it will not work. The employer sanctions will be circumvented. the identification system will fail. and the immigrants will become the target of vicious racism as America vents her collective frustration over unacceptable unemployment levels. We need to begin now to organize ourselves for another attempt at reform. Let us learn from our mistakes this year and start over.
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