Speech #920024607

If these circumstances were reversed and happened to your relatives and friends. I am sure that the impact would hit you more directly.... The time has come to rectify these deplorable conditions: To stop the abuse of our immigration system. to stop the loss by Americans of jobs taken by illegal entrants. to stop the strikebreaking and depressed wage rates which have resulted from an uncontrolled influx of alien workers. to commence studies jointly with Mexico and Canada on ways we can revitalize our common border regions. and. to insure that our border residents have adequate schools and decent housIng. Abuse of the immigration system. which lies at the root of many of these problems. has been flagrant for many years. The abuse stems from very loose control over "green cards." the common name for 1151 alien registration receipt cards. Normally. all immigrants to the United States must have valid immigrant visas upon any entry or reentry to this country. However. green cards are issued as substitutes for valid immigrant visas to persons who are returning to a permanent residence in the United States after a temporary absence abroad not exceeding 1 year. Abuse of these green cards has developed because "greencarders." who were supposed to have been alien immigrants. frequently have maintained their homes In Mexico or Canada. They commute daily or frequently to work in the United States. Under an "amiable fiction" that they are alien immigrants. they have been able to enter the United States regularly with their green card in lieu of an immigrant visa or reentry permit. Thus. the green card system has been allowed to evolve into a kind of work permit system. And a system of large proportions. A count made by the Inrmigration Service on October 31. 1969. indicates over 49.000 "greencarders" crossed the Mexican border on that day alone. In addition. there are estimated to be from 100.000 to 400.000 greencarders who enter this country for several weeks or months at a time to do seasonal migratory farm labor. The harmful effect of this large. uncontrolled labor influx on the wages and unemployment of American workers has been documented in a report prepared by the U.S. Department of Labor for the Select Commission on Western Hemisphere Immigration. I ask unanimous consent that the pages 113130 of this report be printed in the RECORD following my remarks.