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As we have in the past, the AFL-CIO urges that the funding and staffing of the INS be increased to the point where this government agency may perform its important mission of providing a system of orderly immigration to the U.S., while protecting American workers from unfair competition of illegal foreign labor.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, let me repeat the basic rationale for the position of the AFL-CIO in support of strong effective federal sanctions against employers who hire illegal immigrants.

The primary reason illegal aliens migrate to the United States is the lure of jobs and income opportunities. Jobs lure the illegal aliens and many employers will hire them because illegal aliens are willing to work hard for long hours and little pay. The result, of course, is serious undermining and undercutting of wages and working conditions and job opportunities for U.S. citizen workers.

To stop the flood of illegal immigrant workers, we believe there must be strong employer sanctions, a workable, counterfeit-proof identification system, and more effective border controls and interior enforcement.

We urge Congress to move forward promptly on these components of the

necessary attack on illegal immigration.

Mr. Chairman, I would appreciate inclusion in the record of a recent

AFL-CIO Executive Council statement on "Immigration Reform."

Thank you.

Statement by the AFL-CIO Executive Council

on

Immigration Reform

August 5, 1981
Chicago, Ill.

There are few more important responsibilities entrusted to the federal government than control of immigration. Yet this nation's immigration policy is, and for many years has been, in disarray. A thorough review and overhaul of that policy is long overdue.

While we are deeply concerned by several shortcomings in the proposal put forth by the Administration, it provides a basis for action.

We, therefore, urge the Congress to come to grips with and provide

sound solutions to the difficult social, political and economic problems involved. The AFL-CIO pledges that organized labor will take an active role in the effort to pass constructive legislation.

The key to controlling illegal immigration is an effective system of sanctions against employers who hire illegal immigrants, including injunctions backed by criminal contempt for repeat violators. In turn, the basis for such a system is counterfeit-proof identification such as a secure Social Security card. The Administration's proposal for civil

sanctions where the

employer has not acted in good faith relies on documents easily counterfeited and freely available for sale. These sanctions will not be even a minor inconvenience to those who hire illegal workers. We will continue to press for an effective system of sanctions, based on counterfeit-proof identification, against employers who knowingl employ illegal immigrants.

Effective border control and interior enforcement are also essential. To achieve such control and enforcement, additional funding and staffing for the Immigration and Naturalization Service are necessary. We support, too, the efforts of INS workers through their union organization to call attention to the need for additional resources and for a clear sense of agency purpose. The AFL-CIO supports a fair and generous program to legalize the

status of illegal immigrants who have become part of the American community so long as that program operates in tandem with an effective program for cutting off the further flow of illegal immigration. Conditions consistent with a compassionate regard for the families involved should be set with a minimum of formality to make citizenship possible for individuals who presently have a strong attachment to this country while not encouraging illegal immigration in the

future.

We, therefore, have serious reservations about the Administration's "amnesty" proposal. We believe the basic preconditions that would unfairly apply to illegal immigrants and not to the Cuban or Haitian refugees are wrong and that a 15-year waiting period, a denial of reunification of families, payment of taxes without the right to the earned benefits accorded other taxpayers such as unemployment compensation, and a novel requirement of English language proficiency are so harsh as to belie the very concept of amnesty.

Over the long run and after illegal immigration is controlled, we

support the concept of expanded legal immigration. But first we must cure our unemployment problems and absorb into our society the millions of illegal immigrants and refugees who have arrived during the past decade.

We are opposed to the Administration's proposed guest worker program. We reiterate what we have said before: The AFL-CIO is against any program which would permit importation of foreign labor to undercut U.S. wages and working conditions. A guest worker program will make the already high level of unemployment even worse and will undermine the already low level of wages in those industries that are most likely to employ such temporary workers. Women and minority workers are most likely to suffer job loss and income

cuts.

We also oppose the Administration's suggested revision of the H-2 (temporary worker) program, a revision that will surely result in the program's expansion. The Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy stated "that government, employers and unions should cooperate to end the dependence of any industry on a constant supply of H-2 workers.

"

The proposed 50,000 a year guest worker program and the changes in

the H-2 worker certification requirements must be assessed in combination with the suggested 40,000 a year increase in legal immigration from Mexico and Canada. With the H-2 workers, the total increase will be more than 100,000 immigrants a year, far more than present conditions justify.

Finally, we call on the Congress in considering the overall question of immigration to assure that the Government has ample authority to continue its historic policy of providing refuge to the victims of political oppression. The AFL-CIO will continue to work for an immigration policy that is humane, compassionate and consistent with the needs and aspirations of American workers.

89-591 0-82--6

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Senator SIMPSON. Thank you very much.

Your testimony and the knowledge that we have of who you represent in this country is a very important part of our deliberations. It is these types of varied groups, all interested in correcting a situation that needs correcting, which have given us a great deal of help and impetus in our work. The AFL-CIO has been very helpful to us. We appreciate that very much.

I will ask Ms. Bower to testify now. Then we will have some specific questions for each of you. Please proceed.

STATEMENT OF STEPHANIE BOWER, COORDINATOR,
LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT, UNITED FARM WORKERS

Ms. BOWER. Mr. Chairman, my name is Stephanie Bower, and I am legislative representative for the United Farm Workers, members of the AFL-CIO.

We are thankful for the invitation to express our viewpoint on the proposed legislation which would impose sanctions on employers who hire illegal aliens.

United Farm Workers believes that local farmworkers who wait in line by the hundreds at our union hiring halls should have jobs. There has always been an oversupply of labor for the field. Currently, unemployment among Hispanics, which is a large part of our membership, is 9.7 percent, and 15 percent among the black population, and over 50 percent among black youths who comprise a large number of farmworkers in Florida.

We therefore concur with the AFL-CIO's position that imposing sanctions on employers who hire illegal aliens would be a good vehicle for controlling the hiring of illegal aliens if the proposed legislation could be effectively enforced.

The proposed fine should be raised to $1,500 per worker per day because the $500 might not be enough of a deterrent, as employers paying health insurance and other benefits for workers might have to pay the same amount.

Laws covering farmworkers have rarely been enforced. There have been murders in the fields during our strikes, and never has anyone spent even as much as a night in jail. There have been abuses of the laws covering sanitation and housing and child labor. These laws have not been enforced. And the times when laws have been enforced, when it comes to employers hiring illegal aliens, the enforcement has been a ruse.

We strongly urge that a large budget for staff and operations be allocated toward the enforcement of this proposed legislation. We believe that each worker should be issued a counterfeit-proof social security card for identification purposes. Issuing social security cards to farmworkers would put more money into the social security system, as well as providing income for farmworkers in their older years.

At the present time, many growers and labor contractors hold back the employee's social security. This card would also stop that practice.

Employers of farmworkers have traditionally hired workers who do not complain. They sleep under trees and in pup tents, and I have a couple of pictures from Arizona that show this. On several

occasions Puerto Rican workers brought to the east coast to pick apples were dismissed in favor of Caribbean workers who do not require benefits such as social security.

Many farm employers are racist, and we feel they would like to institutionalize a permanent subclass of Mexicans in the United States.

We believe that each worker should be issued a social security card so that farmworkers, as well as other workers in this country, can be brought into the system and not have to live outside of that system.

Coverage of the proposed legislation should not be limited to employers who hire more than four employees. The United Farm Workers supports the right of domestic workers to organize. If their employers are not covered under the proposed legislation imposing sanctions, it would be an unjust law.

The United Farm Workers also would like to see an expanded program for economic development in the country from which illegal aliens come. Any such program involving U.S. aid must make certain that jobs, wages and conditions in the United States are not lost or undermined, decent wages, labor standards which are enforced, and decent working conditions, develop the kind of economy which will take the pressure off of families and keep them from seeking work in the United States illegally.

Finally, before any such legislation bearing any resemblance to the bracero program is seriously considered, there should be a strong positive program to analyze the labor needs of farmworkers and to place them in jobs in their respective local communities. Thank you very much.

[The prepared statement of Ms. Bower follows:]

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