Speech #1090138912

They are forcing these businesses to create what amounts to hiring halls in the form of day labor shelters. These ordinances or proposed ordinances expose these businesses to liability under the employer sanctions provisions of title III by forcing them. as a condition of conducting business. to act as agents of the day laborers in facilitating their employment. While these businesses may not hire the day laborers. they are forced to be parties to the hiring process. for which they face potential exposure to liability under section 205 and title III of the Senate bill. and the harboring provisions of section 274 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. These local ordinances and practices put businesses in an untenable position. Businesses oppose ordinances that provide for the accommodation of day laborers on their property. particularly when these laborers axe undocumented workers. Some local governments deny licensing essential to expand or maintain their business if they do not. It is a no win situation that Congress must address consistent with the overall purpose of this legislation. Without the preemption provisions I have offered to this bill. there would be a gaping hole that would allow public entities to foster the employment of day laborers. whom the recent study I have cited shows to be largely undocumented workers. and force. through their regulatory and licensing authority. businesses to be their agents in this process. This flies in the face of the overall intent of this bill. which is to control our borders and eliminate the job magnet for undocumented workers to enter this country. Through the preemption language that I have added to title M. we have exercised the uniquely federal role given to the Congress under the Constitution to regulate illegal immigration into the U.S. and to prohibit State and local governments through local regulatory authority to thwart the intent of Congress to prohibit the hiring and facilitation of hiring of undocumented workers. Mr. President. let me share a couple of thoughts fundamentally about the immigration bill that is now before us. The question of immigration is clearly one of the most important issues of our time. This vote will be one of the most momentous of our decade. The American people know that.