Simpson Offers New Illegal Alien Bill, Delays Amnesty

Sen. Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyo.) renewed his drive Thursday to crack down on illegal immigration, unveiling legislation that would drop a controversial proposal to grant immediate amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens already in the country.

As in another Simpson bill that nearly was passed by Congress last year, the new measure would fine employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens. But the revised proposal no longer would grant amnesty automatically, instead delaying it until a presidential commission determined whether more stringent sanctions had curbed illegal border crossings substantially.

The Reagan Administration was quick to embrace the concept. “Now is the time for the Congress to act to give this nation the ability to regain control of its borders,” Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III said in a statement.

“While some of the particulars of the new proposal will require further review within the Administration, the comprehensive package introduced by Sen. Simpson is overall an impressive effort to provide a fair, balanced and effective package dealing forthrightly with a problem that is increasing both in volume and difficulty,” Meese added.

However, Latino leaders com plained that the measure contains inadequate safeguards against job discrimination, even though it might make employers wary about hiring all ethnic Latinos, including American citizens. In addition, the Latino leaders are upset by the change in amnesty, which in last year’s bill was guaranteed for illegal aliens who have lived in the country since before Jan. 1, 1980.

“Legalization (amnesty) is not only in the best interests of the country but also in the best interests of Hispanics legally in the country, many of whom live among the undocumented,” said Joseph Trevino, executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, the nation’s oldest and largest Latino citizens’ group. “The cup that he (Simpson) has placed on the table today is a bitter one.”

Millions in U.S. Illegally

A special federal commission that studied the immigration question estimated that, as of 1978, there were 3.5 million to 6 million persons illegally in the country, and the problem has grown steadily since then. Last year, authorities apprehended more than 1.2 million persons trying to sneak into the country illegally. And at least that many others got through undetected, according to estimates by the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

“If we don’t do something with this problem, things will continue to deteriorate,” Simpson contended.

Last year Simpson co-sponsored with Rep. Romano L. Mazzoli (D-Ky.) immigration reform legislation that was passed by both the House and Senate, although in slightly different forms. However, House and Senate conferees were unable to iron out the differences before Congress adjourned, and the measure died.

At a news conference, Simpson said that he dropped the notion of automatic amnesty this year because public discussion of the idea in the past seemed to accelerate the pace of illegal immigration. But aides who insisted on anonymity explained that he was also influenced by public opinion polls indicating that most Americans found the amnesty idea distasteful.

Heavy Employer Fines

A key aim of both the old and new bills is to discourage employers from hiring illegal aliens, a practice that currently is not against the law. Under the revised measure, farmers and other employers could face fines of up to $10,000 for each illegal alien they knowingly put on the payroll.

The measure would establish a presidential commission to monitor progress in reducing the illegal immigrant flow. Only when the commission certified that success was at hand would longtime illegal aliens become eligible for “temporary legal status,” a euphemism for amnesty. After three years, they would be allowed to apply for permanent residency, provided they made an attempt to learn English and satisfied other educational requirements.

Importing Farm Labor

Under a transition mechanism, farmers who rely on migrant labor to pick and plant crops would be allowed to hire at least some illegal aliens for the next three years. Additionally, if farmers could not hire enough help from the ranks of domestic job seekers, they would be allowed to temporarily import seasonal workers.

Both Latino groups and organized labor long have opposed such “guest worker” programs, which they contend are tantamount to importing indentured servants and rob domestic workers of jobs.