Speech #980043236

I would like to take this opportunity to commend my colleagues for the long hours of hard work that have gone into the bill now before the Senate. Certainly. it is not an easy task to attempt to alter the existing system. This legislation is the result of a conscientious and concerted effort on the part of many Senators to allow us to get a handle on this Nations immigration problems. which are the result of our inability to enforce our borders and which have allowed unprecedented numbers of illegal aliens to enter our country. However. as much as I would like to see long overdue and muchneeded reforms in our immigration laws. I was compelled to vote against this legislation when it passed the Senate last year becuase of my serious reservations about some of the longterm effects of various provisions in the bill. and which I regret are included in almost identical form in the bill now before us. S. 529. Among my concerns are those provisions in S. 529 which would impose sanctions against those employers who hire illegal aliens. While I am strongly opposed in principle to the deliberate hiring of persons known to be in this country illegally. I do not believe that the provisons embodied in this bill are an appropriate means of addressing the problem. The mere failure to obtain the necessary documentation which this bill requires for all new hires by all employers of four or more individuals could result in a $500 fine. Actually hiring an illegal alien would lead to a $1.000 fine per alien for the first offense. a $2.000 fine per alien for the second. and. ultimately. a jail sentence upon conviction of a pattern or practice of hiring an undocumented worker. I believe the recordkeeping burden which this bill would impose is mindboggling. particularly for small business owners for whom this requirement would be particularly onerous. Equally as important as the unfair impact which I believe these provisions will have on employers. is the discriminatory effect which I fear employer sanctions may cause againt American citizens or legal aliens of minority groups. If an employer knows he is facing stiff monetary penalties. let alone the possibility of a jail sentence. for hiring an individual who turns out to be an illegal alien. can we be surprised if he elects not to hire anyone who looks or appears to be foreign? I do not believe that even the worthy goal of making certain that people who break our immigration laws are not allowed to work in the United States justifies creating this unconscionable burden on either employer or employee. As you are aware. many efforts have been made on the Senate floor in connection with this legislation to ameliorate the potentially damaging effects of the current employer sanctions provisions. During consideration of this measure last year. I introduced an amendment to the employer sanctions section of the immigration bill of 1982 which I felt would have worked to diminish the risk of discrimination while. at the same time. controlling the intentional hiring of illegal workers in an effective and workable fashion. This year. I was pleased to support the amendment offered by my colleague from Massachusetts.