Speech #1040190568

Mr. Speaker. few current events affect our Nation so dramatically as does the recordbreaking number of illegal aliens entering our country year after year. Illegal immigration is a national crisis. Although my State of California bears the brunt of this problem. illegal immigration is a national dilemma. It affects every hardworking. taxpaying citizen of our country. Tomorrow. with several of my colleagues. I am going to be offering an amendment to the immigration bill. H.R. 2202. Our amendment would call for a mandatory pilot program in five of the seven States most impacted by illegal Immigration. It would require that employers call a 1800 number to check the eligibility to work of a newly hired employee. This amendment simply puts back into the bill the original language that was passed by the House Committee on the Judiciary. The requirement that illegal aliens be verified for work eligibility is crucial to true immigration reform. Contrary to much misinformation. this amendment does not. and I repeat. does not. establish a national ID card or even a system by which a worker can be tracked throughout their career. In fact. this amendment does none of the following: It does not require any new data to be supplied by the employee.