Speech #970274802

On the other hand. I feel that it would be unrealistic as well as inhumane to round up vast numbers of people whose presence in this country has been tacitly condoned over the years by lax enforcement of our laws. A humane solution to this difficult problem is needed. but in our humanity for the unfortunate illegal immigrant. we must not overly burden the American people. By definition amnesty involves a "forgiveness" of those who have broken the law. We certainly have the capacity to forgive but it is not unlimited. and I believe we can fashion a just and fair amnesty program which would neither cause resentment on the part of those who have chosen to obey the law nor encourage further illegal immigration. Various legalization options are expected to be considered by this body. and I intend to offer one designed to delay implementation of the program until after the President has certified to Congress that the Immigration Reform and Control Act has been effective in controlling illegal immigration. Finally. I feel that a key element to any program of immigration reform is an effective temporary foreign worker program to meet seasonal/temporary labor demands. particulary in the field of agriculture. when American workers cannot be found. My district is located in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley of California. the most productive agricultural area of the world. Some 250 commodities are grown in that area. and although we are moving to mechanization in many crops. hand labor is still essential for the growing and harvesting of the majority of those commodities. For many crops. machine labor may never be able to replace human labor. Today that hand labor. or human labor. during peak harvest periods. is provided almost exclusively by illegal aliens. I do not like it. nor do the farmers particularly like it. But it is a fact of life which must be recognized and dealt with.