Speech #1100041789

Act includes several provisions to halt illegal immigrants continued exploitation of our tax laws and our Social Security benefits. One of the greatest problems in this area is illegal immigrants abuse of the individual tax identification number. That is the ITIN program. Currently. it so closely resembles the Social Security number that many illegal immigrants are able to use it in place of a Social Security card to bypass our tax laws or receive wrongly awarded benefits. The ENFORCE Act will require a change in the physical appearance of this particular document so its identity can no longer be mistaken for that of a Social Security number. and it will also prohibit that document from being used for identification purposes. Additionally. my bill will require Social Security numbers to expire as soon as a persons permission to be in the United States expires. So it would expire at the same time that permission expires. It will prohibit illegal immigrants who gain legal status from collecting Social Security benefits for the time they worked illegally in the country. Finally. the legality of daylabor centers is a topic that must be addressed by any comprehensive immigration reform package. These daylabor centers exist within illegal immigrationfriendly "sanctuary sites" and not just in San Francisco. Daylabor centers are Statedesignated and funded sites where illegal aliens congregate and wait for employers to pick them up for a day of illegal work. One such site was approved In 2005 in Fairfax County. VA. to be paid for by taxpayer dollars. Sanctuary cities such as these enable and encourage unlawful activity by both illegal aliens and the employers who hire them. The ENFORCE Act will outlaw the creation of those particular centers. Illegal immigrants continue to cause a myriad of problems for our country and for lawabiding citizens such as you and me. Illegal immigrants not only drain our economy through their exploitation of public services and resources. but we must not forget the national security threat posed by wouldbe terrorists who have entered our country illegally or remain here unlawfully by overstaying their visas. The Center for Immigration Study says: Even though illegal aliens make little use of welfare. from which they are generally barred. the costs of illegal immigration in terms of government expenditures for education. criminal justice. and emergency medical care are significant. Illegal immigration is straining our economy. jeopardizing our security. and burdening our education and health care systems. So this ENFORCE Act will provide solid tools to eliminate illegal immigration and strongly enforce the existing U.S. immigration laws. The seriousness of this crisis warrants that Americans of all political stripes come together to address this problem. One thing that is not included in this legislation that I think should be included in any kind of reformand some of my colleagues can remember I had on the floor of the Senate the legislation making English the official language of the United Statesand it is interesting that some 88 percent of the American people want this. and some 70 percent of the Hispanic population want this also. It is also interesting that there are 50 countries around the world that have English as their official language. including Ghana in West Africa and some other countries. and yet we do not have it for ourselves. But that is going to be handled separately at a different time. History shows us that declaring "immigration bankruptcy" does not work. We saw that in the amnesty of 1986. Simply granting citizenship to immigrants who are currently in our country illegally is not the answer. We have to enhance our border security. hold those accountable who encourage illegal immigration. and ensure that those who violate our laws by entering our country illegally do not remain here and axe not easily welcomed back. So I am introducing that legislation. and I am going to be bringing it up at the appropriate time. By Mr.