[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 2 (Friday, January 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E10-E11]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY PROTECTION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DAVID DREIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 4, 2007

  Mr. DREIER. 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.
  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 country--and 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 enforcement 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.

[[Page E11]]

The improved Social Security card will also be encoded with a unique 
electronic encryption code to allow employers to verify each 
prospective applicant's work eligibility status prior to hiring, 
through either an electronic card-reader or a toll-free telephone 
number. The Department of Homeland Security will be required to 
establish and maintain an Employment Eligibility Database with 
information on a person's proof of citizenship data, work, and 
residency eligibility information, including expiration dates for non-
citizens. This database will also include information from the Social 
Security Administration that the Commissioner determines necessary and 
appropriate for the purpose of verifying an individual's work 
eligibility status. Employers who hire an illegal immigrant or choose 
not to verify a prospective employee's 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 government 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 mandatory-minimum 
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 for other long-overdue anti-
fraud measures to be applied. Moreover, a worker would only need the 
updated Social Security card when applying for a new job. I want to 
make it very, very clear that this proposal does not represent the 
creation of a national identification card. This bill strictly 
prohibits the use of the Social Security card as a national ID card, 
and stipulates that the card not be required to be routinely carried on 
one's person. Social Security cards are often already required to be 
provided to new employers; the changes we are proposing to the Social 
Security card take us no further down the road of creating a national 
ID card. It should be noted that the government already has the 
information that would be contained in the Employment Eligibility 
Database. an individual's eligibility to work under the law is 
dependent on whether they are a U.S. citizen, and if not, their 
immigration status. Finally, the Immigration Enforcement and Social 
Security Protection Act also puts teeth into the new enforcement 
procedures by calling for the addition of 10,000 new Homeland Security 
officers whose sole responsibility will be to enforce employer 
compliance with the law. These new agents will free up the rest of the 
Border Patrol to exclusively focus on border enforcement and terrorism 
prevention.
  Madam Speaker, I do not stand here today to tell the rest of the 
world that we intend to limit opportunities for the American dream to 
be fulfilled. As my good friend Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of my 
home state of California and an immigrant himself has said, many arrive 
in America ``owning nothing but a dream.'' However, the Governor has 
also noted that the first order of our government must be to provide 
security for our borders. If foreign nationals wish to come to the 
United States, they must, as Governor Schwarzenegger said, ``play by 
the rules,'' and we must make clear that there will be no economic 
opportunity for anyone who enters this country illegally. I look 
forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in this effort, and 
hope they will consider joining me as we take action on this vital 
national security priority.
  I would like to thank my original co-sponsors for this legislation, 
including, Mr. Reyes of Texas, who began his career in public service 
with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in the U.S. Border 
Patrol, where he worked for 26\1/2\ years, as well as my colleagues 
from California, Mr. Issa, Mr. Calvert, and Mr. Bilbray.

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