President. I rise in support of the amendment offered by my colleague from California. which would augment the current H2 provisions of S. 1200 by establishing a seasonal agricultural worker program for the perishable commodity industry. I believe reform of the Nations Immigration laws is long overdue and I commend the Senator from Wyomings invaluable contribution in this area. Immigration reform is premised on two very important objectives: to regain control of U.S. borders and to stop the exploitation of defenseless workers. S. 1200 contains substantive provisions to address the first objective such as employer sanctions and increased funding for our border patrol. In our efforts to achieve this second Important objective we cannot turn our back on the needs of farmers in the perishable crops industry. This industry has relied heavily on foreign labor for approximately 50 years. We cannot ignore the reality that many of these workers are in the United States illegally. Furthermore. there is no guarantee that once we stem the flow of Illegal immigration. adequate numbers of domestic workers will fill such jobs. As currently drafted. S. 1200 fails to recognize the unique and legitimate needs of producers of perishable commodities.
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Illegal immigration Immigration border patrol