Jasper Packard: “the claim that this amendment intrudes on our civil rights is a bogus argument. We see people in the grocery lines, at…”

“the claim that this amendment intrudes on our civil rights is a bogus argument. We see people in the grocery lines, at the cash register, and we never hear them complain about having to have calls made to verify their checks before they can take their groceries home. We cannot tighten up the enforcement of employer sanctions, which we are requiring and asking to be done, and then not give the employers a chance to be assured that they are hiring legally. Most of my employers, which really employ a good deal of the alien labor pool, both legal and illegal, are begging for a chance to verify their legality. They want to be legal. It would be a shame not to allow them a system that would give them the verification that they are hiring appropriately and legally. I strongly urge a 'yes' vote on the Gallegly amendment. I rise in support of the Gallegly-Bilbray-Seastrand-Stenholm amendment which would make the employer verification pilot program mandatory. Since I first became a Member of Congress, I have worked to put an end to the illegal immigration problem that has plagued my district, my State of California and now the Nation. Quite frankly, I have found that there are two compelling reasons that pull illegal immigrants to our country. One is the wide range of Federal benefits our country has to offer. This is being taken care of by this bill. The second is the lure of jobs.”