[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 60 (Friday, May 3, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4683-S4684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION REFORM BILL

 Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I voted for the illegal immigration 
reform bill before the Senate yesterday. The final bill is a much more 
balanced approach than what was first proposed in committee. 
Importantly, the illegal immigration reform bill deals only with 
illegal immigration, and expanding deeming for legally sponsored 
immigrants.
  I supported dealing with illegal immigration separately from legal 
immigration because of my concern that if the two issues were dealt 
with together, as first proposed, legal immigration would be swept up 
in very different issues surrounding illegal immigration.
  The illegal immigration bill sets necessary and clear limits while 
continuing America's history of being a nation of immigrants.
  In recent years, illegal immigration has become an issue of serious 
legislative and national security concern. The bombing of the World 
Trade Center in New York City by undocumented aliens led the Clinton 
administration and various Members of Congress to propose legislation 
reforming the immigration process in the United States, particularly 
political asylum.
  This illegal immigration bill deals with stopping illegal immigration 
on two fronts--at our borders by keeping illegal aliens out in the 
first place, and within our borders for those who have entered the 
United States legally but are now here illegally.
  It improves the controlling and policing of our borders from illegal 
entry by increasing border patrol and INS inspectors. It also addresses 
the magnet of jobs and public assistance that has attracted illegal 
immigrants to the United States by authorizing a series of pilot 
projects to verify eligibility for employment in the United States and 
for receiving public assistance and by establishing a program to 
develop tamper proof birth certificates and driver's licenses to reduce 
their vulnerability to forgery.
  This bill also increases the number of border patrol agents by 4,700 
over 5 years. It adds 300 full-time INS investigators over 3 years to 
enforce alien smuggling and employment laws.
  It also deals with the fact that half of all illegal aliens in the 
United States came here legally--they then overstayed their visas and 
are now here illegally. We can't eliminate the problem of illegal 
immigration only by policing our borders. We must also find ways to 
keep people from coming here legally as tourists or students and not 
leaving. The bill deals with this in a number of ways, but its major 
thrust is clamping down on the magnets that attract illegal aliens in 
the first place by eliminating access to U.S. jobs and taxpayer 
supported benefits.
  In order to block illegal aliens from working and receiving public 
assistance employers and administrators of public assistance need to 
have a reliable way to know who is eligible to work or to receive 
benefits and who isn't. It has been illegal since 1986 to hire illegal 
aliens, but far too many are working and taking jobs from American 
citizens and legal permanent residents. The relative ease of access to 
U.S. jobs is what is drawing illegal aliens to the United States. The 
main reason the current system is not working as it should is because 
we don't have an accurate or forgery-proof way to verify employment 
eligibility.
  This bill attempts to address this issue. It simplifies the existing 
cumbersome employment verification system by reducing the number of 
acceptable documents that can be used by employers to verify a person's 
eligibility to work. It lays the groundwork to develop a new 
verification system for employment and public assistance eligibility. 
The INS is directed to conduct several local and regional pilot 
projects to demonstrate the feasibility of alternative systems for 
verifying eligibility. The pilot programs can last from 4 to 7 years in 
an effort to find a workable system. Congress must approve any 
permanent program.
  The bill language specifically takes steps to protect privacy and 
guard against anti discrimination. It also contains language to protect 
privacy and criteria to reduce the burden and cost to business.
  The verification system aims to eliminate counterfeit documents by 
requiring that any document required for verification must be tamper 
resistant. However, the legislation makes clear that this document may 
not be required as a national identification card. Importantly, 
employers are not liable if they hire a person in good faith who is 
later found to have been ineligible.
  The bill reinforces and strengthens current U.S. immigration law 
requirements that immigrants be self-supporting and that they not 
become a public charge. Legal immigrants are accepted into the United 
States under the condition that their sponsors, not the taxpayer, will 
be responsible for them. This bill holds them to that promise. It

[[Page S4684]]

requires sponsors of immigrants to take greater responsibility for 
those they bring into the United States by making the affidavit of 
support which they sign a legally binding document.
  The bill also counts the sponsor's income as part of the immigrant's 
income for purposes of determining eligibility for public assistance, a 
process known as deeming for an expanded range of public assistance 
programs. I believe this provision is in line with immigrants' pledge 
of self-sufficiency and that they will not become a public charge. By 
expanding the number of programs that require deeming, we are holding 
immigrants to their commitment and requiring their sponsors, not the 
Government, take responsibility for them. I supported a Simon amendment 
that would have eliminated retroactive deeming requirements in the 
bill. I believe in deeming requirements to assure that sponsors and the 
legal immigrants that they sponsor meet the responsibilities they have 
promised to meet, but I think it's unfair to apply new rules after the 
fact to those who are already here. Unfortunately, that amendment was 
defeated.
  I voted for a Kennedy amendment that would have excluded pregnant 
women, children and veterans from deeming requirements for Medicaid. 
Unfortunately, that amendment was also defeated.
  Under the bill, illegal immigrants, who have broken U.S. laws and 
have no legal right to be here, are prohibited from using any Federal, 
State, or local benefit, with minor exceptions related to public health 
interests.
  Mr. President, in conclusion, it is time we dealt firmly and directly 
with illegal immigration. This bill, while not perfect, makes a good 
effort to put in place the procedures and resources necessary to reduce 
illegal immigration. 

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