Speech #980219594

The temporary worker provisions in the SimpsonMazzoli bill also warrant our concern. While the intent of the bill is ostensibly to limit the number of people who enter the country. these provisions would allow the entrance of between 300.000 and 500.000 foreign workers annually. The European experience with temporary worker programs suggests that they aggravate. rather than alleviate. undocumented immigration. Moreover. these programs are likely to become sustained and steady sources of cheap. controllable labor. The result will be another sad chapter in the history of our Nations exploitation of foreign workers. Finally the SimpsonMazzoli bill will institute sanctions against employers who hire undocumented workers. A cloud of skepticism hangs over these provisions. which have proven ineffective in jurisdictions within the United States and 20 foreign countries which have instituted similar sanctions. Further. while a great deal of undocumented immigration is sparked by employment opportunities available in the United States. there are other reasons for undocumented immigration that will not be affected by employer sanctions. Many people are moved to cross the border in order to reunify their families or to escape social. economic. and political upheaval. Employer sanctions do not in any way address these important incentives for undocumented immigration. However. the most important problem with employer sanctions is their potential role in encouraging discrimination against Hispanic Americans and other immigrant groups. These groups have expressed the view that employers. fearing significant fines or jail terms. will fail to hire anyone who sounds or looks "foreign." There are many who have doubted this assessment. But the fact is that harassment of Hispanic Americans is already a daily reality In many parts of the country.