Speech #1090096703

In drafting this legislation I am introducing today. I was guided by four principles: 1. Preventionif we do not stem the tide of illegal immigrants coming into our country then there is no point in Congress attempting to have a positive impact on our immigration policy. Strict enforcement of our immigration laws is essential and we should demand no less. 2. Protectionthe United States has always been a welcoming country to immigrants. and many nonimmigrants are admitted for temporary periods to perform necessary jobsparticularly in the field of agriculturethat employers cannot fill. However. any temporary worker program must provide adequate protections for American jobs. Employers should not view alien workers as a way to get cheaper laborit is not fair to Americans willing to work hard and looking for a wellpaying job and It Is not fair to the aliens who are exploited by working for substandard wages. 3. Accountabilityif Congress. through reform legislation. provides employers with an avenue to obtain legal temporary workers. there should be no tolerance for employers who hire illegal aliens. We all know that many illegal immigrants come to the United States seeking employment. Employers who flaunt the rule of law by hiring illegally are hampering our efforts to secure the border by providing incentives for people to illegally come to the United States. and they must be held accountable. 4. CompassionWe are a Nation of immigrants and immigrants have made many wonderful contributions to our countrynot the least of which is helping ensure there is a stable supply of food in the grocery stores for all Americans. We need to ensure that those workers who come to the United States on a temporary basis to perform agricultural work are not exploited and are treated with fairness and respect. The best way to show compassion for illegal immigrants is to stop illegal immigration. I know the Senate is planning to take up debate on comprehensive immigration reform early next year. and I think it is important that we engage in this discussion. The purpose of my legislation is to ensure that reform for the agricultural community is included in whatever reforms Congress considers. The agricultural sector of our economy has been historically plagued by illegal immigration. We already have an avenue for agricultural employers to obtain legal temporary workersthe H2A program. However. many agricultural employers do not use the program because its bureaucracy is difficult to navigate. it is costly. and it is litigious. In addition. it excludes certain occupations from agriculture. My legislation provides needed reforms to the H2A program. provides for the creation of a temporary blue card program. establishes an H2AA worker program for crossborder commuter workers. and. above all. provides for increased border security. First. it mandates that the Department of Homeland Security establish and present to Congress a comprehensive plan for increased border security and stricter enforcement of our Nations immigration laws. including detailed strategies. timelines. and estimated costs. Until such time the Secretary presents and Congress approves the plan. some interim measures would apply. Second. the legislation streamlines and modernizes the H2A program. H2A is not a new guestworker program. It has been around for many years. but underutilized because of its high costs. red tape. and risks of drawn out litigation. To increase the use of the program. the bill expands the definition of "agriculture" to include industries that have been excluded from use of the program previouslyindustries such as poultry. seafood. and meat processors. landscapers. and reforestation contractors. The bill also bases the definition "temporary" on the duration a worker is allowed to be in the United States rather than tying it to seasonality. Some agricultural occupations. like poultry producers and dairy producers. do not follow seasons but require workers year round. If these employers in occupations previously excluded from the H2A program were offered a viable alternative to an illegal workforce. I have no doubt they would seize it. Third. my legislation creates a crossborder commuter worker program. called the H2AA program. This program is modeled after the H2A program. but recognizes that many farms located close to the Canadian and Mexican borders seek to employ workers who prefer to live in their home countries and simply come to the U.S. each day. The H2AA program exempts farmers who employ these H2AA workers from the housing and transportation requirements of the H2A program. and requires those who use it to enter and exit the. United States each day. It allows these agricultural operations to attract workers who live close to the borders but do not desire to move to the United States. Finally. my legislation establishes a blue card program. This is a temporary program that provides for the transition of employees who are currently here in an undocumented status filling needed jobs. To qualify for a blue card. aliens must have worked at least 1600 hours in agriculture in 2005. have never been convicted or a felony or a misdemeanor in the United States. and must have a petition filed on their behalf by their employer. Only after a background check is conducted by the Department of Homeland Security would these blue card workers be allowed to work in the United States for a period of 24 months before they must return to their home country. The blue card allows employers who are currently utilizing an illegal workforce to transition their workforce into a legal one by having their employees leave the country and return on the legal H2A temporary worker program without experiencing a complete work stoppage. There is no amnesty with the blue card programall workers must return to their home country. The underlying premise of any guestworker program and explicitly provided for in my proposed legislation is that United States employers should not be allowed to utilize a guestworker program unless and until they have actively recruited American workers and are unable to find enough to fill needed jobs.