Does America really need even more foreign workers?
The San Diego Union - Tribune; San Diego, Calif.; Sep 7, 2000; Byron Slater;

Sub Title:
[1 2 7 Edition]
Start Page:
B-11
Personal Names:
Matloff, Norman
Smith, Lamar

Abstract:
There are several bills before Congress that would increase the current limit of 115,000 visas to as many as 200,000. In fact, one bill offered by Rep. Lamar
Smith, R-Texas, the chairman of the immigration subcommittee, has been approved by that committee. It would offer an unlimited number of potential foreign
workers. The industry favors another bill co-authored by Reps. David Dreier, R- Covina and Zoe Lofrgen, D-San Jose, that would allow nearly 200,000 workers.
They prefer this bill over the open-ended Smith bill because it does not provide the job protection for American workers, required under Smith's bill.

On top of the hundreds of thousands of foreign workers for high- tech industries, farmers are clamoring for more field hands under a similar plan that is
fashioned after the bracero program, which was ended in the 1960s. It was opposed by the labor unions and many pro- immigrant groups, due to poor treatment
of the workers and barely- habitable housing conditions. The net result of the bracero program was that huge numbers of illegal immigrants decided to remain in
the United States. This created a demand for the amnesty of 1986, in which 3.1 million illegal immigrants received legal status.

If the [Clinton] administration and pro-business Republicans get their way, we might as well scrap any semblance of an effective immigration policy. The H1B
program must be carefully administered to prevent the fraud that has been documented in the past, and there cannot be a general amnesty if America is to
retain any semblance of control over its borders. America must control immigration in order to slow the runaway population explosion.

Full Text:
Copyright SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE PUBLISHING COMPANY Sep 7, 2000

Almost every employer seems to be clamoring for temporary foreign workers these days. In fact, many high-tech computer and electronics firms have been pressuring
Congress to increase the quota of H1B visas that would allow foreign workers to come to the U.S. for up to three years.

Under this arrangement, the employer pays a fee and then is allowed to hire an engineer or programmer or some other skilled worker, from out of the country, to work in their
company for a limited time.

Here's the rub. They often replace existing workers at reduced wages, and in many cases, do not hire older or newly graduated, prospective employees. This practice has done
wonders for the corporate bottom line and these foreign workers are literally chained to their desk. In many cases, they are forced to work long hours without overtime pay
and usually do not receive benefits offered to permanent employees.

In addition, they are forced to stay with one employer for up to three years, without the ability to shop for a better-paying job. It's the nearest thing to involuntary
servitude.

Is there a dire need for these foreign high-tech workers? Not according to Norman Matloff, professor of computer technology at University of California at Davis. Matloff
has been tracking high- tech computer jobs for years, and he has repeatedly decried the so- called dire need for these foreign workers.

According to Matloff, there are ample qualified applicants for most of the jobs filled by the foreign workers. He cites a bumper crop of newly graduated engineers and many
seasoned workers over 40 who are having difficulty landing jobs in the youth-oriented computer industry. Matloff also points to the fact that many high-tech and dot-com
companies are facing tough times in the current market and are unable to increase their work force in a slowing market.

There are several bills before Congress that would increase the current limit of 115,000 visas to as many as 200,000. In fact, one bill offered by Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas,
the chairman of the immigration subcommittee, has been approved by that committee. It would offer an unlimited number of potential foreign workers. The industry favors
another bill co-authored by Reps. David Dreier, R- Covina and Zoe Lofrgen, D-San Jose, that would allow nearly 200,000 workers. They prefer this bill over the open-ended
Smith bill because it does not provide the job protection for American workers, required under Smith's bill.

On top of the hundreds of thousands of foreign workers for high- tech industries, farmers are clamoring for more field hands under a similar plan that is fashioned after the
bracero program, which was ended in the 1960s. It was opposed by the labor unions and many pro- immigrant groups, due to poor treatment of the workers and barely-
habitable housing conditions. The net result of the bracero program was that huge numbers of illegal immigrants decided to remain in the United States. This created a demand
for the amnesty of 1986, in which 3.1 million illegal immigrants received legal status.

The law provided stiff penalties for employers who knowingly hired illegal immigrants.

It was also supposed to beef up the border to stop more illegals from entering the country. The problem was that the law was not enforced until immigration reform
legislation passed in 1996.

In addition to the demand for foreign workers, the Clinton administration wants to add an amnesty for up to 500,000 illegal immigrants now living in the United States. This
amnesty would cover Central Americans who came to this country during the war in El Salvador, Guatemala and Haiti under asylum laws.

The problem is that once they got here, they refused to go home at the end of the war. This is contrary to our immigration laws and would allow them to circumvent the long
wait for legal entry.

Therein lies the problem. If we give amnesty to this group, it would be a signal to the impoverished around the world that if you can get across our border, you're home free
and will be given legal status sooner or later. It would also penalize those who have patiently waited for legal entry. When the U.S. government granted amnesty in 1986, it
was supposed to stop illegal immigration.

In fact, the exact opposite has resulted. Today, the Immigration and Naturalization Service admits that 6 million illegal aliens are residing in the country. Some say the figure
is as high 10 million or more.

If the Clinton administration and pro-business Republicans get their way, we might as well scrap any semblance of an effective immigration policy. The H1B program must
be carefully administered to prevent the fraud that has been documented in the past, and there cannot be a general amnesty if America is to retain any semblance of control
over its borders. America must control immigration in order to slow the runaway population explosion.

Credit: Slater is a member of the Border Solution Task Force, an immigration control group.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.