Speech #990275059

Chairman. some objections have been raised about employment sanctions and the verification of job applicants by employers. Arguments have been made that these provisions would be difficult or too burdensome for employers to follow. or would be discriminatory to some individuals. The immigration reform measure contains a provision I offered as an amendment which would help ease the burden of employer sanctions. Specifically. my amendment would require the Department of Justice. in cooperation with the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services. to study the feasibility of developing a telephone system for purposes of verifying the status of job applicants. This study is to be conducted within 12 months of the enactment of this bill. This provision is fair both to the alien applying for employment in the United States and the employer who may fear reprisal for hiring any foreign worker regardless of legal status. The use of a telephone verification system for employment purposes has four advantages: First. it would be less burdensome to employers in proving the legal status of applicants since they would need only to pick up the telephone to verify their immigration status. No extra paperwork would be involved and they would be assured of their compliance with the provisions of the alien employment law. Second. it would be a more effective tool in determining the authenticity of alien status since many documents proving status can be easily forged. Third. the alien could be assured after status has been verified that no undue pressure or threat of employment termination would be placed upon him or her. Fourth. it would show American citizens and legal residents that action is being taken to ensure that their prospective jobs are not being taken away because of the hiring of illegal aliens. I believe there is almost unanimous agreement that the principal reasons aliens migrate to the United States are available employment and the belief that it is not illegal for employers to hire illegal aliens. One way of solving this problem is to make it illegal for employers to hire illegal aliens and by imposing penalties on those employers who do. However. it would be unfair to impose a cumbersome procedure upon employers to prove their compliance with the law. In addition. if the procedure is too burdensome. many legal aliens may be denied jobs because they may look illegal by nature of their skin color or accent.