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Official: illegal alien legislation won't hurt businesses
Rachel Youens
Posted: 6/13/06
Legislation proposing tall fences and making illegal immigrants felons led thousands to protest in May. But the deputy secretary of the U.S. Commerce Department assured Austin business leaders Monday that the bill approved by the House of Representatives and currently before the Senate, would not threaten the role immigrants play as workers in America.

"Simply adding controls or building walls alone will not solve the problem," said David Sampson. "True border security and economic security for the American people demands a comprehensive immigration reform approach," he said.

The temporary worker program provides border control by giving foreign workers a system for temporary work and pairing them with willing American employers so they have an alternative to illegal entry, Sampson said. He also assuaged fears of deportation, saying that the 12 million immigrants already in the country serve an essential role in the economy.

"It is just not practical to deport all these individuals, nor is it compassionate or consistent with the American character to do so, because it would require separating parents from the 3 million American-born children," Sampson said.

The Texas Republican Party has already taken a stand against the temporary worker program, saying "no amnesty, no way." Their platform advocates the suspension of citizenship, education and health care to their children as well.

The ability to become legal through this program is not unconditional. Immigrants would earn legal status by paying fines and back income taxes, going through criminal background checks and learning English. They would also be in line for citizenship behind all of those who have legally applied.

"It is not automatic citizenship," Sampson said. "It is penalizing those that have broken the law."

A raid on Texas French Bread June 1 led to the arrest of five illegal immigrants, four of whom were deported. The owner said he was unaware of their illegal status and that they had given him fraudulent visas and Social Security numbers when they applied for work.

"American companies want to abide by the law and try hard to abide by the law, but with fake IDs and fraudulent Social Security numbers it's not easy for an employer to tell who is in this country legally," Sampson said.

The bill outlines a system for a biometric ID card using fingerprints that would be issued to legal immigrants. These IDs, which are difficult to forge, would help protect businesses from accidently hiring illegal immigrants with forged documents.

Citing the founders of Google, Yahoo and Intel Corp. - who are all immigrants - as examples, Sampson pointed to the role immigrants are playing in technological and scientific innovation in America. Caps on the number of green cards and work visas that can be issued are currently preventing some of these skilled workers from being able to come to or stay in the U.S., he said.

"Business leaders have made it clear that if they cannot bring high-skilled workers to their U.S. offices - then the only alternative is to consider moving work to wherever they can access the needed talent, including relocating projects abroad," Sampson said.

The planned reforms would make the caps on the visas and green cards flexible to the demand for workers.

Sebastian Puente, a member of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, sees the immigration issue in terms of economics.

"The Hispanic segment of the population is what's driving growth for a lot of our companies here in the U.S.," Puente said. "These immigrants come here not to take something from somebody else, not to threaten you or me. They're only here to work. So their contribution here, I think, is one-sided."