Op-ed on immigration published in Investor’s Business Daily on March 15, 2006

Workers, Businesses And Economy Need A Fair Guest-Worker Program
By Craig Miller

Hard on the heels of new figures from the Pew Hispanic Center estimating that there are now 12 million undocumented individuals in the country, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is making some important decisions on fixing our dysfunctional immigration system. Neglected by Congress for 20 years, this broken system now seriously threatens our security and economy, making it essential that senators get it right.

Right now, America's Department of Homeland Security is unable to screen the millions of undocumented employees already living here or the estimated half million undocumented persons arriving each year. By refusing to recognize how they are woven into every part of American life, current policy provides huge incentives for them to continue living in the shadows.

Washington’s immigration policy also undermines American values. Seven million hardworking, taxpaying employees-one in every twenty workers in America-work tough, often menial, jobs without the basic labor and human rights protections provided by government. Often risking their lives to come here, they also risk exploitation and deportation once they arrive. Thanks to their status, many are forced to live beyond the reach of these important legal protections as second-class, non-citizens, creating a barrier to them learning English and assimilating into our society as previous generations of immigrants have.

But because existing immigration regulations are impossible to enforce, they also breed contempt for the law among native-born Americans. Ordinary citizens try to live their lives amid an immigration system that has broken down.

As a restaurateur, I hear about the consequences of this every day. Due to complex immigration rules, an abundance of apparently legitimate but fraudulent, worker identification documents, and the threat of discrimination lawsuits if they ask the "wrong" questions about employees' papers, many employers to take their livelihoods into their hands every time they hire:

To this immigration foes simply reply: “Enforce the law.” Such thinking, epitomized by a bill passed by the House of Representatives last year, demands severe penalties for employers and undocumented employees. The hope is to make life so hard for these workers that they will leave their jobs and homes for inferior opportunities outside America.

The House bill certainly contains Draconian penalties. It would make seven million employees "aggravated felons"-a harsh judgment on those who empty bed pans in America's elderly care homes, make our hotel room beds and collect the trash from our offices. Under their plans, even "mom and pop" restaurants whose "office" may be a dining table could be fined up to $25,000 for immigration-related paperwork errors.

Enforcing the current failing rules more strictly would also have severe economic costs. As the nation's largest private sector employer, my industry directly sustains 12.5 million jobs and millions more in other industries. Like any business, if a restaurant cannot fill entry-level jobs, fewer higher-skill positions are economically viable. This is no less true of industries like construction, healthcare and hospitality-which like mine are growing faster than the economy-and face shortages of essential workers. When worker shortages cause the economy to slow, it is those Americans who are looking for work and who have the fewest skills who are hit the hardest."

Attempting to enforce our current laws more stringently will simply worsen the problems created by the current unworkable system-and require a massive prosperity-destroying tax. Instead, Senators must bring immigration policy into line with our need to strengthen America's borders and grow our nation's economy.

America's economy currently sustains 134 million jobs-adding 5million jobs in the last 30 months alone. Yet despite the fact that the number of foodservice industry jobs is growing 1 ½ times as fast as the U.S. labor force, only 10,000 green cards are currently available for service industry positions annually.

Democrats and Republicans should come together to clean up this immigration mess. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on Monday on important bipartisan compromise amendments. They would create a functioning guest worker system and establish a fair system for qualified undocumented employees to pay a fine, learn English, and wait their turn in line to earn a green card, while continuing to work their current jobs.

We hope that every Judiciary Committee senator will support these amendments.

Craig Miller is Chairman of the National Restaurant Association and chief executive of Ruth's Chris steakhouse.