Why do so many residents of the Soviet Union actively. and sometimes desperately. seek to leave that country? To answer these questions. one only has to look as far as the contrasting situation in our own country. I find it ironic that this week the House of Representatives is considering a major piece of immigration legislation that focuses on. among other things. establishing a ceiling on the vast numbers of immigrants allowed to come to the United States every year. These are people who see the United States as a great country. full of opportunity and respect for the basic human rights that many of them lack in their countries of origin. In other words. we are trying to decide how to accommodate the thousands of people who want to share in the many benefits America has to offer. The Soviet Union. on the other hand. faces our dilemma but in reverse. The Soviets set ceilings on those who want to leave. Ceilings are not even the worst product of Soviet immigration policies. Many of those who prefer to leave are subsequently incarcerated under the pretext of hooliganism. slander. or treason. What are their real crimes?
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