Speech #1090098862

Chairman. with great respect to both chairmen on this bill. I do understand the importance of this measure and all of the hard work that has gone into it. We do need border security. and we need to beef up our Federal personnel and protect our citizens from terrorist threats. However. we should not be moving a border bill that imposes penalties on employees and avoids dealing with the undocumented workers who are here now. I do not support H.R. 4437 because it does not include comprehensive guest worker reform that my constituents desperately want back home in the San Joaquin Valley of California. In 1986. Congress passed immigration reform. Two major mistakes were made when this bill was passed. Number one. it did not contain a guest worker provision. and number two. it provided amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants. In passing immigration reform and granting amnesty in 1986. Congress thought that they would stop illegal immigration. Well. they were wrong. because today. we have about 10 million immigrants in our country. Now we are here once again debating an immigration bill. and there is no guest worker program in the provisions. In this bill. we are penalizing employers without dealing with the millions of illegal workers currently here. As long as this House continues to avoid the need to Include a guest worker program in immigration reform. we will continue to have an illegal immigration problem in the United States. U.S. border patrols are overwhelmed. and the cost of enforcement has skyrocketed. If we are implementing a guest worker program to provide temporary worker permits and allow workers to go home for part of the year. border enforcement officials could focus their resources on securing the border. I urge my colleagues to vote against this measure. and it is with great respect to the chairman because it does 51. Pt. 21 28697 not contain comprehensive guest worker reform.