Ken Calvert: “the Chabot amendment takes the teeth out of this bill. Illegal immigrants come to this country for one reason, jobs. The…”

“the Chabot amendment takes the teeth out of this bill. Illegal immigrants come to this country for one reason, jobs. The immigration bill of 1986 tried to move in the right direction, but it failed to maintain an adequate workplace enforcement provision. What it did was create a system where employers are forced to be pseudo INS agents. With the fear of fines, employers must decide which documents are fake and which are real. This is an unfair, unrealistic burden. 1-800 is not big brother. It simply gives employers an easy, cost-effective way to make sure they are following Federal law. As a former small businessman who ran several restaurants in southern California, I saw my share of suspicious documents over the years. 1-800 would give me peace of mind as a small employer. When I first proposed a toll-free workplace verification system back in 1994, I had no idea it would attract such attention. I am glad that it has, but like many hot issues, certain untruths have cropped up. 1-800 is not big brother; it is not an intrusion into small business; it is not discriminatory; it is not an ID number or system. It is, however, cost-effective, nondiscriminatory, business-friendly and, most importantly, the most effective tool we have at stopping illegal immigration once and for all. It may come as a surprise, but many employers knowingly hire illegal immigrants in this country. These employers hide behind the current law.…”