[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 10250-10251]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, law enforcement officials who made the 
arrests and looked at this called it a ``modern day plantation.'' What 
happened was a string of very profitable convenience stores had 
undocumented immigrants from Pakistan and the Philippines routinely 
working up to 100 hours a week for below minimum wage. And although 
their employers made $180 million over a dozen years, while pocketing 
much of their employees' wages, these workers lived packed into 
apartments unfit for human habitation. Because they lacked the proper 
immigration paperwork, the workers were simply too afraid to speak up 
for themselves.
  It happens all the time. These were the circumstances at more than a 
dozen 7-Eleven stores in Long Island, NY, and in Virginia. They were 
raided last week by Federal immigration officials. The unfortunate 
conditions exposed by this high-profile bust, however, are all too 
common. The busts do not come very often. They were able to get to the 
bottom of this. Most of the time these people are so abused and nothing 
happens except the abuse continues.
  More than one-half of undocumented day laborers say they have been 
cheated by employers. One-quarter of undocumented workers polled in New 
Jersey say they have been assaulted by their employers, a crime they 
rarely report. A lot of times there are language barriers, and they are 
simply afraid they are going to lose their jobs and maybe be deported.
  In one survey virtually every undocumented female farm worker said 
sexual violence in the workplace is a very serious problem. The 11 
million people living in America without the proper documentation are 
particularly vulnerable to abuse by these employers who are very 
unscrupulous.
  A system under which people can be forced to live as indentured 
servants, under substandard living conditions and the threat of 
violence hurts all workers, and it is wrong. It is immoral. The 
bipartisan immigration bill before the Senate will eliminate the kind 
of exploitation seen at these rogue 7-Eleven stores and other dishonest 
employers in a number of ways.
  First, it will reduce illegal immigration by strengthening our 
borders and fixing our broken legal immigration system. We all 
acknowledged before going into this debate that our system was broken 
and needed to be fixed. That is what this bill does. The bill will also 
make the electronic employment verification system, known as E-Verify, 
mandatory within 5 years. That will make it virtually impossible for 
people without the proper immigration paperwork to secure jobs, 
removing the incentive to come here illegally and removing the 
incentive from these unscrupulous employers taking advantage of those 
people.
  The legislation will allow temporary workers to change jobs without 
losing their visas, making it possible for them to escape and report 
exploitative employers without fear of deportation. They have not been 
able to do that. They will not until we pass this legislation.
  This measure also offers more visas for victims of crime, including 
employer abuse. These protections will be good for honest workers, 
helping them stand up for their rights without fear of retribution. It 
will be good for honest employers, whose unscrupulous competitors have 
an unfair advantage.
  This legislation also recognizes that undocumented workers play an 
important role in our economy and need an earned pathway from the 
shadows to citizenship. The path will not be easy; it was not intended 
to be. Undocumented people will have to go to the back of the line, pay 
penalties and fines, work, pay taxes, learn English, and stay out of 
trouble.
  The alternative, to deport 11 million people, is impractical, 
inhumane, and just plain wrong for our economy. Helping millions of 
immigrants get right with the law will boost our national economy by 
more than $800 billion over the next 10 years, and it will reduce the 
deficit by almost $1 trillion over the next two decades--a pretty good 
deal.
  Last night's strong bipartisan vote on the Corker-Hoeven border 
security compromise was a huge step forward for this legislation. 
Opponents of immigration reform can no longer hide behind false 
concerns about border security. That is an understatement. There can be 
any excuse to oppose immigration reform. If it is, it is transparently 
obvious that they are just trying to figure out a way to vote against 
this legislation.

[[Page 10251]]

  I hope those who have stood in the way of this legislation will 
instead join us to do what is right for our economy and humane for 
immigrant families. It is time to crack down on crooked employers--that 
is what they are--who exploit and abuse undocumented immigrants. It is 
time to give hope to 11 million immigrants who want nothing more than 
to become citizens of a place they call home.

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