|
||||||||
Congressional Response: Representative Adam Smith (D-9th, WA) Responds to Your Totalization Petition
I believe we must deal with the illegal immigrant problem in the United States by not only tightening our borders but by holding employers responsible if they knowingly hire an illegal immigrant. The federal government recently expanded a pilot program that would ensure employers are held accountable for hiring an illegal alien. The federal system allows the employers to call and check the legal status of someone who is applying for a job. This would cut down on Social Security fraud by ensuring that employers have received a legitimate Social Security number and the person applying is a legal citizen. If the employers do not use the system, or ensure the person is a legal citizen in another way, then they will be fined. As you may know, President Bush’s proposal for immigration reform includes creating a temporary worker program. The key points in his immigration proposal include allowing illegal workers currently in the United States to be eligible to join a temporary labor program. Those workers can then apply for permanent U.S. residency, but will receive no preferential consideration. The employers hiring these individuals must show they cannot find U.S. laborers to fill the jobs before they hire a temporary foreign worker. These workers will be guaranteed wage and employment rights and receive a temporary three-year visa, renewable once. They are expected to return to their countries once their visas expire. I have concerns with this proposed legislation as it leaves a gray area which does not deal with the status of illegal immigrants who do not participate in this temporary program. There is no discussion of reforming any other area of immigration policy which needs to be reviewed in this new era of national security concerns. With that said, I am certainly not in support of amnesty for all, which would open up the flood gates for illegal immigrants to obtain citizenship. Another concern I have with the proposed legislation is that these temporary visa holders will virtually be at the will of their employers as they must stay with the employer that brought them into the country or go home – to me, this holds a possibility of creating a new indentured servant program instead of a temporary visa program. Furthermore, as I mentioned earlier, I believe employers must be held accountable for the hiring of illegal immigrants and we must look to increase the penalties of employers that knowingly break current laws by hiring illegal workers. Let me also take a moment to respond to your comments about the totalization agreement between the U.S. and Mexico. I share many of your concerns on this complicated issue. As you may know, U.S. negotiators signed a totalization agreement between the U.S. and Mexico on June 29, 2004. A totalization agreement coordinates the payment of Social Security taxes and benefits for workers who divide their careers between two countries. Since 1978, the United States has entered into totalization agreements with 20 countries including Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom and recently as of this year Japan and Mexico. The agreement with Mexico has not been transmitted to Congress for review or otherwise made publicly available. Currently, since Mexico meets the "social insurance country" definition, a Mexican worker may receive U.S. Social Security benefits outside the United States. Family members of the Mexican worker must have lived in the U.S. for at least five years to receive benefits in Mexico, but typically under a totalization agreement, this requirement is waived, allowing the payment of benefits to alien dependents and survivors who have never lived in the United States. Please be assured that I understand your concerns. Social Security must remain a guaranteed benefit that recipients can count on. I believe that if a person contributes to Social Security then they have the right to collect benefits, and I am concerned that the totalization agreement might threaten the solvency of the Social Security program. Yet I also want to ensure that legal workers are able to receive the benefits from Social Security they put into the system. Often, people from foreign countries come to the U.S. to work for U.S. companies and are paying Social Security and other taxes. Also, a U.S. company may send an employee to work in a foreign country where a totalization agreement does not exist; therefore, that employee must contribute to the Social Security systems in both countries. I want to ensure legal workers are able to receive the benefits from Social Security they have put in. You may be interested to know that on September 9, 2004, Representative Hayworth (R-AZ) introduced an amendment in the Labor/Heath and Human Services Appropriations bill that would have stripped the funding for implementation of the totalization agreement with Mexico. I do have some concerns about the agreement, including the potential effects on the solvency of our Social Security program. However, Congress has not yet had an opportunity to review the details of the agreement, which has yet to be submitted to the Secretary of State and the President for approval. I believe the President and the Congress should follow the normal procedure for reviewing totalization agreements, which will include a full review by the White House and a Congressional vote next year. I therefore voted against the Hayworth amendment, which failed by a vote of 178-225. Let me assure you that Social Security reform is one of the top legislative priorities for the 109th Congress. For over 60 years, Social Security has provided guaranteed retirement income for millions of Americans. Please know that I will work to ensure that Social Security is protected for years and generations into the future. January 2005 | ||||||||
|
|
||||||||
First let me say I agree that illegal immigration is a problem in this country. Many who enter the United States illegally are taking jobs away from legal citizens. In some instances, they can also depress wages because illegal workers tend to work for much less pay. Illegal employees are also hurting themselves because they have no rights as an illegal worker. An employer may violate the law but, in many of these cases, the employee is too scared to go to the authorities because they are using illegal documentation.