Speech #1040192368

I rise today to speak in favor of this amendment. I represent a district that provides most of the tropical foliage for the United States. Without passage of the PomboChambliss amendment. the immigration bill will severely hurt U.S. agricultural producers in south Florida. This bill will make it tougher to hire workers during peak harvesting periods. Some of my colleagues will argue that this amendment hurts American workers by allowing employers to hire illegal immigrants. This is simply not true. In fact. the PomboChambliss amendment requires an employer to give preference to U.S. workers for a minimum of 25 days before the position can be offered to an Immigrant. Moreover. no aliens can be employed at a position which is open due to strikes or labor disputes. Let us be clear. This amendment helps the American economy. And it does not sacrifice our desire to stem the tide of illegal immigrants. It allows agricultural producers to hire guest workers only when there is a temporary shortage of American workens. It requires employers to withhold 25 percent of the guest workers pay until they return home. Finally. those immigrants that violate this program can be deported and prevented from participating with this program in the future. This amendment does not weaken the immigration bill. Rather. it enhances the effectiveness of this bill and helps the American economy.