Speech #1040267334

Mr. Speaker. I rise today to oppose the conference report on the immigration reform bill. I voted for the immigration bill when it was considered by the House. even though I disagreed with some of its meanspirited provisions that would kick children out of school and onto the street I felt that it was a good. tough measure that would lead to a reduction in the level of illegal immigration. However. I rise today to oppose this conference report because special interest groups have managed to kill important provisions. Everyone knows the real reason that immigrants enter this country illegally: jobs. Common sense tells us that if we clamp down on this demand. we will see a corresponding drop in the supply. It is also a matter of common knowledge that employers in this country are exacerbating this problem by knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. Quite simply. they are acting as a magnet for illegal immigrants. These employers brutalize their workers by forcing them to work in sweatshop conditions at below minimum wage rates. And. significantly. they reduce job opportunities for American citizens. Sensible immigration reform must entail a crackdown on these unscrupulous employers. Sadly. this bill fails in that respect. The Housepassed version. which I supported. provided 500 new Immigration and Naturalization Service [INS] officers to investigate employers who hire illegal immigrants. The Republican leadership. after consulting with their special interest lobbyists. decided to water down this provision. Now. the INS will get 200 fewer agents. And the agents the INS does get will be prohibited from focusing exclusively on employer violations. This bad conference report. in fact. weakens sanctions against employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants. If we are serious about curbing illegal immigration. it is simply illogical to pass legislation that is soft on these lawbreaking employers. At the same time. this measure radically attacks our Nations antidiscrimination laws. making it harder for American citizens to prove that they have been discriminated against when seeking employment. It would require those claiming discrimination to prove that their employer intended to discriminate against them. which is an almost impossible legal hurdle to clear. I find it very unfortunate that this bill. originally intended to protect the American worker by stopping illegal immigration. will actually curtail the legal rights of American workers. Finally. Mr. Speaker. I rise to criticize provisions which will seriously undermine American families. Historically. our Nations immigration laws permitted Americans to reunify their families by acting as sponsors for their foreign relatives. The immigration measure on the floor today raises the income level that prospective sponsors must meet to 200 percent of the poverty level. In plain terms. middleincome Americansthe police officer or the schoolteacherwill be denied the ability to bring their aging parents to this country. Mr. Speaker. if we are to stem the tide of illegal immigration. we must undertake tough and effective measures. But we must insist that such measures apply to all the actors in the immigration problem---illegal immigrants as well as the employers who hire them. Unfortunately. this bad bill. by exempting the latter. insures that the problem of illegal immigration will continue. as unscrupulous employers continue to lure employees with jobs.