Speech #1000043825

I want to join Senator SIMPSON in expressing opposition to the proposal by my distinguished colleague. Senator DECoNCINI. because I. too. feel it is unnecessaryand at this point in time would add to the very confusion he seeks to avoid. I also feel it is extremely dangerous to open up for amendment key features of the immigration bill we passed last October after 6 agonizing years of debate. I did not vote in favor of the bill at that time. But it is now the law of the land. and as chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Affairs. I will see to it that it is implemented as Congress intended. and assure. through our oversight responsibilities. that it is implemented effectively and fairly. It is in this spirit that the subcommittee has already held two oversight hearings on the implementation of the bill. As we all know. Congress gave the Immigration and Naturalization Service an enormous task when we enacted the Immigration Reform and Control Act. It is legislation with farreaching consequences. and which takes us into some uncharted waters. It also touches every employer and every worker in this country. It is critically important that there be the greatest possible clarity in the messages that we and the Immigration Service give to employers. particularly as we approach the June 1 date when employer sanctions become law. Therefore. it is my fear that we further confuse the message. rather than clarify it. if we shift the rules of the game at this late hour. which the DeConcini amendment would do. Many employers in this country have already been told about the new laws provisionsthat starting June 1 they have certain paperwork obligations when hiring new employees.