Speech #990284250

Mr. President. for years now the Congress has grappled with the problem of illegal immigration. There has been a consensus for some time that something must be done to stop the flow of illegal immigration. but there has not up to this moment been a consensus on how to achieve this goal. I opposed the most recent Senate version of immigration reform when we voted on it in September 1985 because several of Its key provisions were seriously flawed. It did not provide any mechanism to allow persons discriminated against as a result of employer sanctions to seek redress. By delaying the legalization program. it created a very unfair situation in which people who have been here long enough to quality for legalization could not be hired legally during a 3year interim period. and would be subject to deportation during that period. And the Senate bill also created an unmanageable GuestWorker Program which would have jeopardized the wages and working conditions of American farmworkers and allowed the largescale influx of foreign farmworkers. The conference report before us today goes a long way toward addressing the problems that caused me to vote against S. 1200 last September. It isnt perfect. but since it relates to a matter as perplexing and controversial as immigration reform. it is hard to imagine how it could be. First of all. the bill that has emerged from conference contains the House provision known as the Frank amendment. It is similar to an amendment offered by Senator HART and myself last September. The Frank amendment prohibits discrimination by employers based on national origin or citizenship status. sets up a procedure for filing charges against such discrimination. and establishes the position of "Special Counsel for ImmigrationRelated Unfair Employment Practices" inside the Justice Department. The bill also provides for GAO review of the employer sanctions and the possiblity that the sanctions will be phased out after 3 years if it is found that they lead to discrimination against legal residents. Mr. President. we would be kidding ourselves if we think that the Frank amendment or any antidiscrimination amendment we might adopt will absolutely prevent any discrimination against Hispanic citizens and legal residents by employers who are subject to sanctions for hiring illegal aliens. But it does provide a mechanism for redress. it does designate a Government official whose sole responsibility will be to deal with this discrimination issue. and it does provide for a review and possible phaseout of employer sanctions if discrimination becomes a serious problem. I am troubled by the possibility that U.S. citizens and legal residents might not be hired after this bill is enacted simply because they look Hispanic or speak with an accent. But the problem of illegal immigration is so serious and the window of opportunity for passing this legislation is so narrow that I am willing to give the Frank amendment a chance to work. When S. 1200 was before the Senate last year. I offered an amendment to close the gap between the time employer sanctions were to go into effect6 months from the date of enactmentand the time illegal aliens who have lived here long enough to be legalized would become eligible for legalization3 years from the date of enactment. I thought this created an inconsistency and a terrible anomaly for those persons who would be eligible to become legal residents. These people would be eligible for legalization but it would be illegal to hire them during the 3year interim period and they could be deported during that period. Unfortunately. my amendment did not pass. The failure of the Senate bill to provide stopgap protection for the narrow class of aliens eligible for legalization was one of the main reasons I voted against S.