King pushes bill to tighten borders


BY MARTIN C. EVANS
martin.evans@newsday.com

June 20, 2007

WASHINGTON - Saying Congress should take up border security now and wait a few years before addressing immigration reform, Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) offered legislation yesterday that would boost the number of border guards and speed deportation of illegal immigrants, while denying privileges to the undocumented.

"We should do all we can to secure the border over the next two, three years, and after that we can decide what to do with the illegal immigrants who are here," King said. "If we legalize them now, it gives an incentive for more illegal immigrants to come in."

He said his proposals emphasize enforcement of existing immigration law, such as penalizing employers who hire the undocumented, while altering the H-2A visa program to allow a limited number of temporary agricultural workers to come to the United States.

King said he offered his package with Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) in an effort to persuade Republican immigration hawks to remain united against the immigration bill the Senate is expected to revive next week.

They and others have branded the bill as "amnesty" because it provides a pathway to legal status for the estimated 12 million immigrants.

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, (D-Miss.), who replaced King as Homeland Security committee chairman, accused King of grandstanding, saying he could have addressed immigration during the dozen years before Democrats took control of Congress this year.

"When you've been in the majority for 12 years, to now come up with this while they are in the minority is to play to the fears of the country rather than serving the country," Thompson said.

King would require employers to check job applicants against an electronic database of legal workers. King said such a database exists in the so-called Employment Eligibility Verification System, formerly known as the Basic Pilot program, which he said must be improved before it can be effective.

The Employment Eligibility Verification System, which is run by the Department of Homeland Security based on Social Security data, already has been used by about 17,000 employers.

The Senate proposal also would require an EEVS search of job applicants.

But critics have challenged its reliability - federal officials acknowledge it has a 4 percent error rate - saying its use could result in millions of legal job seekers having to prove their status to the Social Security Administration before they could be hired.

"It's not ready for prime time and there is a high margin for error," said Arizona Chamber of Commerce spokesman Ann Seiden. "To mandate it across the country right now would be disastrous."



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