Speech #1090098864

I was here in 1986 when the SimpsonMazzoll bill was passed. I voted against it because I didnt think it was a balanced bill. and I didnt think it was a workable bill. and I think that what has happened in the last 19 years showed that a no vote was the right vote. That bill was based on the fact that we would solve the illegal alien problem by giving those who are already here amnesty and then we would impose sanctions on employers who hired new illegal aliens. The reason it didnt work. as my friend from California has stated. is that the employer sanctions were never enforced. As a result. illegal aliens came across the border in increasing floods. The current system gives an incentive to an employer to hire an illegal alien in an entrylevel job that is labor intensive because illegal aliens work for less money than either documented aliens with green cards or United States citizens. As a result. the bad actors in areas like the hotel and restaurant business. agriculture. landscaping and the construction business. are able to have such a competitive economic advantage because of the low wages over those who are trying to do it the right way. I can understand why the Chamber of Commerce is against this bill because of the employer verification system.