Speech #980210293

I would like to compliment the Rules Committee for the excellent work that they have done in drafting a rule under very difficult circumstances. The fact that this bill comes under the jurisdiction of four and not one committee of the House is evidence of the difficulty the committee must have had in drafting this rule and still protect the rights and varied jurisdiction of each committee. The bill that will be placed in order if this rule passes is definitely not immigration reform. It opens the door to a national identification system. It does not address itself to the inefficiencies of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. nor its lack of funds. or its void of longrange planning. SimpsonMazzoli keeps in place the Immigration Services historic insensitivity in dealing with the public and makes little effort to correct its backlog or improve its image. It is also not immigration reform because it does not provide for immediate Haitian and Cuban adjustment and eliminates the existing Cuban Adjustment Actan action that will adversely affect all Cubans in Florida and throughout the country who are eligible to adjust their status under that act. The bill that this rule will place before the House is definitely special interest. It provides for a steady flow of cheap labor for agriculture. It lowers the standards of our existing H2 program and establishes a new one that will not require the Labor Departments certification that domestic workers are not available. All of this together with the Panetta amendment will result in the largest bracero program in the history of the country. The Simpson version of this bill gives the President 3 years to present to Congress an ID system. and authorizes the Immigration Service to deputize local police departments to help conduct raids and in so doing. forms a police state that our country should not tolerate. It is hard for any who examine this legislation objectively to understand the contradictory aspect of this bill. It is designed. they say. to stem the flow of illegal immigration and protect the American worker. But it neither stems nor protects. as its provision provides for. the unrestricted importation of millions of guest workers who will be permitted to enter without medical examination and to compete for jobs with the unemployed American worker. The dangers inherent in this bill to the American workers must be carefully considered before this House makes the mistake of passing this bill under the pretense that it is immigration reform. On February 22. I introduced H.R. 4909 an alternative proposal drafted after a series of meetings with representatives of Hispanic. Asian. black. civil rights. and church organizations. This legislation. agreed upon by this group after weeks of work is. in fact. immigration reform. It has the support of these groups throughout the country as well as that of the Presidential candidates. for the Democratic Party nomination. yet. the committee to which it was referred has had no hearings on the bill. Walter Mondale.