Reagan Stands Fast on Immigration Bill

WASHINGTON — President Reagan still supports an immigration bill that would penalize employers who hire illegal aliens, despite a report by his economic advisers that such sanctions would hurt the economy, the White House said Thursday.

Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers, in a draft of its economic report to Congress, said employers would spend $1.6 billion to $2.6 billion a year screening job applicants to determine their immigration status, White House spokesman Larry Speakes said.

The advisers said that punishing employers for hiring illegal aliens would impose a new “labor market tax” on employers.

The immigration bill Reagan supports, passed by the Senate last September and awaiting action in the House, would attempt to staunch the flow of illegal aliens by imposing penalties on employers who hire them. It would also grant amnesty to aliens who have lived in the United States for several years.