WASHINGTON, DC-Today the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security convened a hearing on the employer verification system proposed in the Shuler/Tancredo Secure America through Verification and Enforcement (SAVE) Act. In response, SEIU issued a formal statement before the subcommittee, and SEIU Executive Vice President Eliseo Medina issued the following statement:

"The Save Act's 'get tough' approach to driving immigrants out of the workforce has been the centerpiece of our failed immigration policy for more than a decade. If left unchecked, these piecemeal reforms will just expand the underground economy, cost the federal government billions of dollars, and perpetuate a chaotic, broken immigration system that harms all working people.

"Everyone wants to end illegal immigration, but history has shown that this strategy of deportation without reform is a dead end. Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars to enforce broken laws, we need a controlled, legal immigration system that protects all working people, supports our economy, and deals realistically with those undocumented workers already here. 

"Last Spring during the Senate debate on immigration, we predicted that a failure of Congressional leadership would have dire consequences, and since then everything we have predicted has come true. We've seen more tragic workforce raids, the painful separation of families, and a glut of harsh state and local ordinances that cause more harm than good. We've also seen those politicians who've tried to use immigration as a wedge issue for their own political grain crash and burn.

"If today's Presidential campaign has delivered any sort of immigration message, it is that the American people want practical solutions, not more of the same failed policies. We urge the House Ways and Means Subcommittee to recognize the disastrous economic, security, and civil rights consequences of the SAVE Act's employment verification system, and call for leadership and real solutions on this issue."

 

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