Bloomberg: America Needs Illegal Immigrants

PHILADELPHIA - Mayor Bloomberg criticized the legislation to crack down on illegal immigration being considered by the Republican-led Congress yesterday and called on federal lawmakers to concentrate on the "future rather than pander to rabble-rousers and parochial fears."

Mr. Bloomberg said the economy would collapse if the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in America were deported. He also said beefing up border security would not, on its own, stop people from flooding into the country without documentation. He called that goal, which is being pushed in the House, "either naive and short-sighted, or cynical and duplicitous."

"It's as if we expect border control agents to do what a century of communism could not: defeat the natural forces of supply and demand and defeat the natural desire for freedom and opportunity," Mr. Bloomberg said during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting.

Mr. Bloomberg, a Republican, also plugged his proposal to create a national DNA or fingerprint database, which would track the immigration status of all Americans who work. Unless businesses stop hiring undocumented workers and government stops turning a blind eye, illegal immigrants will continue coming, he said.

The mayor has been pushing his position on immigration for several months, but yesterday was the first time he testified in front of Congress on the issue.

He also used yesterday's national platform to attack House lawmakers for tacking on an amendment to an existing law that would cut off antiterrorism funding for municipalities that ban employees from contacting the federal government about an individual's immigration status. The city complies with the law when it arrests someone, but protects confidentially of immigrants who report a crime, visit a hospital, or send kids to school, Mr. Bloomberg said.

"We are not going to let Congress cut-and-run from New York City," he said. "No one will cheer louder than Al Qaeda" if the amendment passes.

Washington lawmakers have stalled over what to do about immigration. The House is considering a bill to tighten border security and the Senate has a version that would add a citizenship possibility and a temporary "guest-worker program" to that mix.

Senator Specter, a Republican of Pennsylvania and the chairman of the committee, sponsored the Senate legislation and conducted yester day's hearing.

Mr. Bloomberg also reiterated his view that the country should be expanding the number of visas it issues for people to come into the country legally.

The mayor of Hazelton, Pa., Lou Barletta, a Republican who also testified yesterday, sided against Mr. Bloomberg. He said illegal immigrants are draining his city's budget and committing crimes in town. He said residents in his city - which he called "small town USA" - need relief.