Speech #880082239

Mr. President. the statement by our distinguished colleague. the Senator from Hawaii. is a valuable contribution to the current discussions of immigration policy. This is not the first time the Senator has spoken so responsibly to the conscience of the Senate on immigration matters. But certainly it is one of his most eloquent and vigorous statements. I commend him for it. and thank him particularly for his unflinching support of legislation I introduced earlier in this session. I was struck especially. Mr. President. by the Senators definitive discussion of the discriminatory clauses of our basic immigration statute. and the irrational pattern of the national origins quota system. An immigration policy with different standards of admissibility for different racial and ethnic groups. a policy with unjust strictures against family unification. in short. a policy with builtin bias. should have no place on our statute books. It is contrary to our credo of democracy. It tarnishes our claimed position of world leadership. We need a new formula for the admission of immigrantsone based on equality and fairplay. and applied without exception to the people of all nations. It is one reason I introduced reform legislation earlier this year. which. as the Senator from Hawaii points out. is widely supported in Congress and throughout the country. Mr. President. as Senators know. the strictures and bias of our current basic statute have necessitated many special enactments in the last 10 years. The argument is made these special measures have brought refinement to our immigration policy. But have they really? I think not. For these efforts stop short of the point where a stable and permanent policy comes into question. A brushfire approach to immigration matters does not satisfy the requirements of a useful immigration policy. The foreign policy aspect is a case in point. Despite the special enactments of the past decade. our immigration policy. a basic expression of America abroad. is still defined by the discriminatory contents of the Act of 1952. The act is widely and unfavorably known. the exception which temporarily modify it beyond recognition and make it contemporarily workable are not. We thus suffer needless stigma. and furnish grist for the propaganda mills of Moscow and Peipingto the detriment of this country and the ideals we cherish. Without question. our basic immigration law is at variance with the foreign policy we pursue in accordance with these ideals. The situation generates skepticism relative to Americas practice of democracy. There is no yardstick with which to measure the impact of our immigration policy upon our foreign relations and the reputation of America abroad. But It would not seem outlandish to suggest that in the long run this impact may well equal that of our economic aid programs. Mr. President. the Senators comments on the economic impact of immigration are most useful and valuable. He lays the facts on the line in great detail. I hope his statement is widely read and appreciated by Members of Congress and citizens in all parts of the country.