Speech #900312035

I urge the enactment of H.R. 15450. This legislation will alleviate an acute shortage of religious workers in this country by expediting the entry of trained aliens meeting the requirements of the bill. The bill exempts from the numerical limitation on immigration any immigrant: First. who continuously. for at least 2 years immediately preceding his application for admission has served as a missionary. brother. nun. or sister of a religious denomination. and Second. who seeks to enter the United States solely for the purpose of serving in such capacity. and Third. whose services are needed by such religious denomination. or Fourth. who is a spouse or child accompanying such religious worker. Procedurally. the bill contemplates that a bona fide religious organization will petition the Attorney General for the special classification to be accorded the religious worker. As special immigrants the beneficiaries of this bill would be exempt from the labor certification requirements of section 212(a) (14) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. as amended. though not preempting employment of American workers. In fact. numerous bona fide religious organizations desperately need fulltime religious people to work and teach in hospitals. schools. and orphanages. This need is not being met. Moreover. the preference system recently instituted to reform the immigration and nationality law compounds the shortage of these trained religious workers. Under the present law. only ministers of bona fide religious organizations are accorded such special immigrant status. This bill seeks only to extend to missionaries. brothers. sisters. and nuns. the same status now accorded ministers. As such. the bill does not change the basic philosophy of the Immigration and Nationality Law. The Department of State and the Immigration and Naturalization Service are fully competent to administer the provisions of the bill to prevent any abuse either by aliens or by farcical religious organizations. In short. Mr.