Speech #1010144314

Mr. President. almost 1 month ago. the General Accounting Office released its final status report on the implementation of the employer sanctions provisions of the 1986 Immigration Act. The report confirms exactly what many of us in Congress feared when employer sanctions were enacted in 1986that they would produce discrimination against Hispanic American citizens. AsianAmerican citizens. and other ethnic minorities and legal immigrants. The findings of the General Accounting Office are startling. The GAO conducted exhaustive employer surveys and concluded that fully 19 percent of employers have initiated illegal. discriminatory practices as a result of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. Ten percent of employers were engaged in national origins discrimination. and another 9 percent discriminated against Job applicants based on their immigr tion status. The number of American citizens and legal immigrants wrongfully denied employment as a result must number in the thousands. Clearly. this situation is intolerable. and it remains my position that employer sanctions should be repealed. The enforcement benefits of employer sanctions are not justifiable if they are at the expense of ethnic Americans who face new discrimination hurdles in their effforts to gain a Job for which they are qualified. So unless Congress finds a way to end this discrimination. the sanctions should be repealed. The specific terms of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 required the Comptroller General to make a determination whether "a widespread pattern of discrimination has resulted against citizens or nationals of the United States or against eligible workers seeking employment solely from the implementation" of employer sanctions. The law stated that if the Comptroller General makes that determination. then Congress has 30 days to consider a Joint resolution approving his findings. If that resolution is signed by the President. the employer sanctions provisions are terminated.