Speech #1100000916

Madam Speaker. in the last two Congresses we have spent considerable time on the extremely important issue of immigration and homeland security. In the 108th Congress. we passed the National Intelligence Reform Act. a landmark piece of legislation to overhaul our intelligence agencies. But. as I noted at that time. the bill unfortunately did not go far enough in addressing the major security vulnerability presented by the porous nature of our borders. Seeing that need. in the 109th Congress we debated immigration extensively and even passed H.R. 4437. the Border Protection. Antiterrorism. and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005. Regrettably. the Senate failed to act on this important piece of legislation. That is why I rise to ask for the support of my colleagues for an illegal immigration control plan that I am pleased to introduce today. This proposal. the Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act. is designed to eliminate up to 98 percent of the illegal border crossings into the United States. TENSIONS OF REMARKS. Vol. 153. Pt. 1 I believe that in order for any proposal to stop illegal immigration to be successful. it must get at the root cause of what attracts illegal immigrants to our countryand that is the lure of economic opportunity and the ease with which illegal workers can find jobs. Under the Immigration Enforcement and Social Security Protection Act. we will dramatically increase the eniorcement of laws which prohibit American businesses from employing illegal immigrants. Regrettably. too many employers have been unwilling to comply with the law. The growing availability of counterfeit identity documents has also undermined the current system because employers are increasingly unable to establish the authenticity of documents presented by job applicants. Our legislation adds new features to the Social Security card to deter counterfeiting and make it easier for employers to determine whether a card is genuine by including a digitized photo of the cardholder on the card. The improved Social Security card will also be encoded with a unique electronic encryption code to allow employers to verify each prospective applicants work eligibility status prior to hiring. through either an electronic cardreader or a tollfree telephone number. The Department of Homeland Security will be required to establish and maintain an Employment Eligibility Database with information on a persons proof of citizenship data. work. and residency eligibility information. including expiration dates for noncitizens. This database will also include information from the Social Security Administration that the Commissioner determines necessary and appropriate for the purpose of verifying an individuals work eligibility status. Employers who hire an illegal immigrant or choose not to verify a prospective employees work eligibility will face stiff federal fines of $50.000 and up to 5 years in prison. The employer would also be required to reimburse the govemment for the cost of deporting the illegal immigrant. Moreover. this bill provides that no officer or employee of the Department of Homeland Security shall have access to any information contained in the Employment Eligibility Database for any purpose other than the establishment of a system of records necessary for the effective administration of this act. and will imposes penalties of $10.000 in fines and mandatoryminimum sentence of 5 years in prison on anyone who misuses information on the database. With the improved Social Security card and national verification system. employers will have no excuse for hiring illegal immigrants. By eliminating the supply of jobs for illegal workers. we will end the incentive for illegal immigrants to enter the United States because they will know that they will be unable to make a living here. Legal workers will only need to update their Social Security card once to have their photo placed on the card and ior other longoverdue anlifraud measures to be applied. Moreover. a worker would only need the updated Social Security card when applying for a new job.