Speech #990279004

This bill places a cap of $1 billion in each of 4 years on Federal reimbursement to States for costs incurred by fulfilling the medical. educational. and administrative costs of legalization. Let me read you a telegram I received today from the Honorable Peter Shabarum. chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Los Angeles County has more undocumented alien residents than any other county in the Nation. The telegram reads: Dear Congressman Martinez: I urge that you oppose conference report on immigration reform legislation. I am concerned that the bills legalization assistance provisions would leave most of Los Angeles Countys estimated $190 million in annual costs for legalized alien health and welfare unreimbursed. The Schumer farm worker amendment makes a mockery of the amnesty date and renders the law vulnerable to abuse leading to higher Government costs. The consequences of both the Schumer amendment and the amnesty provision aggravate an already impossible physical dilemma facing the taxpayers of Los Angeles County. We firmly believe that the Federal Government should reimburse all legalizationrelated costs so county taxpayers would not have to bear the costs of the Federal decision to grant legal status to undocumented aliens. Sincerely. Peter F. Schabarum. chairman. Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. For the first time in history. this bill institutes Federal penalties for private citizens who hire illegal aliens. This provision is latent with discriminationif it werent. the House and Senate would not both have agreed to attach an elaborate antidiscrimination measure to it. This country cannot countenance a law that promotes discrimination. no matter how it is dressed up. The solution is not a Frank amendment. no matter how wellintentioned. because the employer sanctions approach is fundamentally flawed. We should make work permits conditional on having a Social Security card. which cannot be obtained by anyone who is not a citizen or a legal resident. This will put the burden of enforcing the law on the Government. where it belongs. not on private employers. Not only is this unfair to private employers. but it will cause them. out of fear. to discriminate against prospective employees who are "foreignlooking." We need legislation that incorporates immigrants into American society. not reactive measures that are bound to foster discrimination and hatred. This legislation is a bad product built on a misguided foundation. Immigration reform we need. but let us produce it according to the longer term. more enlightened principles by which our Nation has always approached this extremely important subject. I urge my colleagues to look beyond tomorrow. beyond this pressured moment. and think seriously and humanely about guiding the formation of the great country in which we live.