Speech #980217696

Chairman. I move to strike the last word. If those who are listening to this debate think they are confused. how do you think the poor illegal alien who is trying to figure out whether he can get in on the amnesty provisions of this particular amendment is going to come out? Let me try to put this in a little perspective. I have been on the Judiciary Committee now for almost 14 years. I was on the Immigration Subcommittee the very first time I was here. I went with Chairman RODINO. then chairing it. to the Mexican border. we held hearings in Los Angeles and El Paso. New York and Chicago. and we talked to aliens in detention camps who were waiting to be shipped back to their countries of origin. And I have voted for a pure employer sanctions bill twice in this House. And I say to my friend from Florida [Mr. McCoLLuMJ. that it failed. and one of the reasons that it failed was because we had not taken into account the other side of the equation. that is dealing with the situation of the millions of illegal aliens who are already here. Now I also happen to think that if we just take a legalistic approach and think that any statute is going to solve the problem of illegal immigration in this country. we are kidding ourselves. Until and unless we can help our good neighbors to the south of the border get their economies to the point where their people can find work in their own countries. we are going to continue to have illegal immigration from that area. If there arent jobs in Mexico and their population continues to expand. as it will. then more and more people will be in dire poverty. We are going to have more and more illegal immigration into the United States. regardless of any legislation we enact. And if you know anything about the border down there and how rugged it is. you will know that there is no way that you can physically keep them out. Nevertheless. we must get our immigration problem under control. to the extent that that is possible through legislation. And the two keys to this are: First. employer sanctions. and second. legalization for those who are already here. Now this is not just a humanitarian gesture. though indeed it is a humanitarian act. Illegal aliens. because they fear discovery of their status. will not go to the law enforcement authorities when they are not being given standard wages. They will not go to law enforcement authorities when they are working in inhumane conditions or when their housing is substandard or when they are being abused in other ways. We owe it to them to correct these inhumane conditions. but we also owe it to our own citizens. This situation is dragging down our entire set of laws dealing with the conditions under which labor works in this country. and driving down wages. Moreover. this festering situation is undermining our immigration laws and respect for law generally. So we must get a handle on it. and that requires that we maximize. not minimize. the number of illegal aliens who can come forward and declare themselves and feel at long last that the fear of being discovered has been lifted from them. If. as I believe. legalization is important. then what we ought to be doing is making it possible to bring the maximum number of illegal aliens under this umbrella. Obviously you cannot make it the current date of enactment. whatever that may be. because you may encourage more immigration. But I tell you. ladies and gentlemen. if you have been down to the border. and I was there as recently as last weekend. there is no way that the cutoff date is going to make an awful lot of difference. in terms of encouraging additional illegal immigration. Many Mexicans. for example. feel that it is a right. which they have been exercising for generations. to simply walk across the Rio Grande. which is very easy to do. Nevertheless. we have to have a cutoff at some time in the past.