Speech #970274802

Although I am offering these perfecting amendments. I remain concerned about the ability of the H2 program to properly meet the needs of American farmers and at the same time provide a healthy competitive environment for the farmworker. Immigration reform is a priority issue for this Nation. I have long been a strong advocate of such reform. However. I am concerned that in our haste to adjourn we may find ourselves strapped with a law which will be no better than the current one in controlling immigration. and which will only exacerbate the existing unfair and highly selective enforce. ment policies. After years of turning away from the reality that the United States has lost control of much of its borders. my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee are to be commended for their earnest efforts to remedy the situation. Rather than tackle this problem on a "piecemeal" basis. the bill constitutes a comprehensive program addressing many of the ailing facets of existing law. In general. I support this integrated approach to dealing with the problem of illegal immigration in this countrya program of dealing with those individuals already residing illegally in this country with a program for admittance of workers on a temporary basis in those industries with historic difficulties in attracting domestic workers. There is a wide divergence of opinion of the number and distribution of undocumented aliens residing in the United States. Likewise. there are differences among those who speculate regarding how many such aliens will seek to legalize their status should such a mechanism be available. I have struggled with the question of granting amnesty to those undocumented aliens residing within U.S. borders. I question whether our social service programs will be able to bear the potential additional burden this process may causeand question the role the Federal Government should play in aiding the States with this. I am concerned it rewards those who have broken the law. to the detriment of those who continue to wait outside our borders. After much conjecture. I have come to the conclusion it is both inhuman and impractical to require deportation of all undocumented aliens. many of whom have become established community members. I wish to stress at this point. however. that the granting of amnesty in no way will alleviate other stresses on our immigration systemparticularly as they emanate from our neighbors to the south and the pushpull economic factors. In this vein. it is my opinion that a key element to the success or failure of the overall approach to immigration policy will be the implementation of a program to admit alien workers to the United States on a temporary basis. According to Leonel Castillo. former Commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service: The U.S. is experiencing the worlds largest temporary worker programlarger even than the guest worker programs of Switzer. land. France. Holland. and Germany. Only ours is unregulated * (resulting) in the Immigration Service having to arrest over an million persons annually 0 * * whose crime is that they want to work in this country. Economic factors will continue to propel immigrants to the United States. Any program for dealing with immigration must take into consideration the tremendous drawing power of the United States. The Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy pointed out that all studies indicate that undocumented/illegal aliens are attracted to this country by U.S. employment opportunities. Most come from countries that have high rates of underemployment and unemployment. As was pointed out by Carey McWilliams. in the book "North From Mexico": The issue has always turned on the choice between planned migration and unplanned immigration. for it is extremely debatable whether. under any circumstances. Mexican workers can be kept from crossing the border. Given the attraction of industrial employment in the United States and the ease with which the border can be crossed. Mexicans will continue to follow the old familiar paths which lead north from Mexico. An immigration policy which fails to acknowledge this reality is doomed to failure. At the same time. one must be cognizant of the fact that a supplemental temporary work force will continue to be needed in several industries. for example. those segments of agriculture which are particularly laborintensive. such as the deciduous fruit industry. Consider. for example. the swelling demand for labor in the cherry industry. where labor requirements rise from a level of 4.5 manhours per acre in the month of March to a peak of 316 manhours per acre during the harvest period of May to June.