Speech #1030233544

Mr. President. last week the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform. chaired by Barbara Jordan. submitted its first report to the Congress. We created the Commission in the 1990 Immigration Act. Its bipartisan membership was selected by the congressional leadership. with the chairperson appointed by the President. This first report from the Commission dealt principally with illegal immigration which continues to be a major problem for the Government and a growing concern to the American public. Fifteen years ago I served on a similar Commission whose final report dealt with illegal immigration and made certain recommendations to address the problem. However. that Commission. and I was one of the commissioners. "passed" on the question of a secure worker verification system. Similarly. when I drafted legislation. which later became law. to carry out the recommendations of that first Commission. we again ducked on the issue of a secure verification system. Opposition from civil libertarians on the right and on the left. joined by the Hispanic caucus and the various Hispanic organizations. and especially their "executive director" designees forced us to deal with illegal immigration without an adequate means of identifying those authorized to work in the United States. The results of this omission are well known: We continue to have a very serious illegal immigration problem. and perhaps even more dramatic. we now have a serious problem of the widespread manufacture. trafficking. and use of counterfeit documents in the United States. The Jordan Commission. to its good and great credit. not only recommended the "development and implementation of a simpler. more fraudresistant system for verifying work authorization." but it also proposed a system which would avoid discrimination. meet civil liberties and privacy standards. and reduce the time and paperwork burden on employers. rhe Commission (lid not propose a national identity cardshades of George Orwellas some have suggested. nor did they propose a system which would lead us down any of those sinister "slippery slopes." What the Commission did recommend is a "computerized registry using data provided by the Social Security Administration and the Immigration and Naturalization Service." The key to the system is the Social Security account number which the employer will check through the computerized registryone call to the registry and a confirmation number back to the employer. Just as we do for credit cards. I was totally appalled and amazed at the reaction from the administration as it burbled and backpedaled and tried to put distance between the White House and the recommendations of the Commission. Both the White House and the Justice Department have acknowledged. publicly. that illegal immigration is one of the most serious problems this country is facing. yet this fine concise. reasonable report received nothing more than a cursory mention by this administration. No wonder the public believes the White House is totallyand perhaps terminallyout of touch with America. This proud. vivacious. brilliant. civil libertarian.