Speech #990281197

Mr. President. I intend to vote against this immigration bill. While the current version contains much that is worthwhile. I strongly oppose the employer sanctions provisions. which I regard as an unwarranted badge of discrimination against millions of lawabiding. hardworking American citizens of Hispanic descent. Having said that. I also want to acknowledge that bad as this bill is. it might have been even worse. That it is not is a tribute to the dedication and endurance of the chairman of the Senate Immigration and Refugee Policy Subcommittee. Senator ALAN SIMPSON. We disagree about the merits of this bill. but he has worked hard to eliminate some of the most objectionable features in its prior incarnations. In fact. the current bill is a clear improvement over the measure that passed the Senate only a year ago. Immigration reform is one of the most complex issues that any of us has ever facedand it is also one of the most important. because it will shape the lives of millions of Americans in the years ahead. There are many provisions in the current bill that I support. such as the generous amnesty date. the elimination of any massive temporary foreign agricultural worker program. the semisunset provision that I worked to have included in a stronger form. the new alienage civil right. and the breakthrough that ends the two decade old discrimination in current law against Irish and other European immigrants. But these positive features fall well short of justifying this legislation. The resort to employer sanctions is a retreat from Americas commitment to civil rights and our struggle against discrimination. If one thing is clear in the history of the immigration laws. it is that whenever Congress enacts a measure with any potential for discrimination. the full potential is relentlessly realized and virulent discrimination results. This bill has that potential and will inevitably have that result. It is an underserved slap at millions of Hispanic citizens. In our zeal to control our borders. we should resist the temptation to break faith with the noble ideals of Americas immigrant heritage. This measure fails that test. and it should not be enacted into law. Finally. it is illusory to believe that this bill can deal effectively with the migration pressures of the future. unless we are also prepared to deal with the economic forces behind those pressures. We must address the issues of economic growth and development in other nations if we are to gain control of our own borders. When the peso fell. migration soared. This bill deals only with the immigration law. but not the powerful forces driving illegal immigration.