Speech #1010178972

Speaker. another issue that the Congress has dealt with this session is the repeal of employer sanctions. This is an issue which strikes at the core of American values. It is not an immigration issue. it is a civil rights issue. It was my concern and the concern of several of my colleagues that the employer sanction provisions of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act would inevitably lead to discrimination against those individuals legally seeking work who appeared foreign. While I voted in favor of the immigration bill. my support was contingent on the understanding that should the GAO find widespread discrimination as a result of the employer sanction provisions. Congress would move quickly to repeal those provisions. I believe that several Members of this body based their support of this bill on that same contention. The third and final GAO report was released in March of this year. and it confirms beyond a reasonable doubt that the discrimination as a result of the immigration bill against "forelbnappearing individuals." primarily Hispanics and Asians. is rampant. Here is the GAO report and its quote: "GAO also found that there was a widespread discrimination. but was there discrimination as a result of the immigration bill? That is the question Congress directed GAO to answer. GAOs answer is yes." A second quote from the GAO: "GAO estimates that 891.000 or 19 percent of the 4.6 million employers in the GAO survey population nationwide began one or more discriminatory practices as a result of the law. In areas where Hispanics and other minorities are concentrated. the statistics are even higher. In Los Angeles. for example. the percentage of employers practicing discrimination exceeds 30 percent. Over a quarter million employers began a practice as a result of the immigration bill not to hire job applicants based simply on foreign appearance or accent." Some Members and interest groups have suggested the use of identification cards or other measures aimed at reducing discrimination. While these Intentions may be well placed. these are hardly solutions to the problems. That the employer sanction provisions of the law are inherently discriminatory. that Is clear.