Speech #980210343

Mr. Speaker. I reluctantly rise to urge my colleagues to vote against the rule proposed for H.R. 1510. the Immigration Reform and Control Act. Even though we need immigration reform and control. this rule in effect is closed to consideration of better alternatives. I believe this bill offers a piecemeal approach to the problems of immigration control and enforcement. Although many believe this bill will curtail illegal immigration and save jobs. I believe this bill will only add confusion to our lives. It does this in three distinct ways: First. it will force employers nationwide to become the policing agents for verifying the legality of employees. Second. on the one hand using the strong arm of INS enforcement toward some undocumented aliens. and on the other legalizing perhaps millions of other undocumented aliens. Third. reenactment of the Bracero nightmare with a greatly expanded temporary worker program. will allow thousands more laborers from neighboring couritries to be imported to work in the United States. June 11. 1.984 CC H.R. 1510 revamps immigration law in a comprehensive manner. without full acknowledgment of the current status of INS services. Not only are delay and disarray common in naturalization procedures. but enforcement efforts are scattered and disruptive when directed toward workplaces. Mr. RoYBALs bill is a fresh approach to this problem. His bill institutes a plan for improving naturalization services and requiring that existing labor law be used to deter the employment of illegal aliens. It recognizes that adding another law without teeth to the books is not the answer to our immigration problems now or in the future. We must control our borders. But. we need not do it by instilling fear in our communities or by attempting to pass legislation which instructs the Attorney General to simultaneously implement programs with conflicting objectives. I believe legislation which allows for a practical and phasedin approach toward immigration control would far better suit our needs nationally and locally. This bill is not the answer to our immigration efforts. If this bill passes. we will be required to spend more Federal dollars on repair work than if we return now to the drafting table. The product of our efforts should be a staged and reasonable legislative proposal which has a much broader support base. It should not be a bill bearing the tags of untold numbers of interest groups each claiming support for the Iill based on specific contingencies. Finally. a memorandum from OMB dated January 13. 1984. was either purposefully or secretly leaked to the public revealing OMBs views about immigration policy. While some Members have seen this memorandum. I would like to insert it in the REcoRD at the end of my statement for others who may not have seen it. I believe this memorandum from David Stockman depicts precisely how our debate on immigration issues has been politicized and led astray. The focus of his concern measures the adverse budgetary impact of this legislation. though his assumptions are not necessarily accurate. No one can give a precise count of the number of undocumented individuals living within U.S. borders. nor can an accurate estimate be made of those who will be eligible for legalization. My vote against the rule is in response to the voices of my constituents. who want fair and effective immigration control legislation without discrimination. hostility. and disruption in our communities. They would like immigration control which is practical and acknowledges the concerns of legal residents and longterm undocumented individuals. They want a sound Federal immigration policy that works. Memorandum for: Cabinet Council on Legal Policy. From: David A. Stockman. Subject: OMBs concerns with the immigration legislation. The purpose of this memorandum is to express OMBs budgetary and policy concerns with the immigration legislation and to urge the Administration to determine the budget magnitude and policy compromises it is willing to support in preparation for devising a legislative strategy to effect passage of a bill the Administration can accept.