Speech #980219587

Mr. Chairman. as one who has been concerned about the tide of Illegal immigration in recent years. I rise in support of H.R. 1510. the Immigration Reform and Control Act. The bill. as amended. incorporates two related provisions which are essential to control the massive influx of illegal immigrants into this countryemployer sanctions combined with a simple and nonintrusive means of verifying employment eligibility. The provisions will greatly reduce the incentives which now draw millions of illegal immigrants across our borders. I believe these provisions constitute the heart of effective immigration reform. In 1977. I first introduced legislation which included these two elements. My bill provided graduated employer sanctions and the establishment of a counterfeitproof Social Security card as the employment identifier. The bill was based on the notion that the millions of illegal aliens who have poured across our borders in the last few years are drawn here by the prospect of jobs that pay far better than anything they could find in their home countries. Without the lure of employment in the United States. these people would probably never leave their homelands. Jobs are now readily available to the undocumented worker. Some employers are eager to make use of the large. cheap. willing pool of illegal labor. and they face no penalty for doing so. The United States is virtually alone among developed nations in not penalizing employers who knowingly hire illegals. Clearly. employer sanctions are needed. But sanctions against those who hire illegal aliens. without a simple and reliable system of identification. unfairly burdens the employer. Most businesses have neither the resources nor the inclination to verify the identity of a worker who may possess a counterfeited. temporary work permit or some other bogus form of identification. Worse. the employer may be placed in the position of discriminating against anyone who appears to be foreign when in doubt about the status of a prospective employee. Without a workable means of verifying employability.