Speech #920194456

I can certainly state for the RECORD that under his leadership the subcommittee worked long and hard to wrestle with the problem of the transition from the old national origins principle to the principle which is now in the law. This bill. as the gentleman from New Jersey so eloquently pointed out. is merely an effort to alleviate some of the undue hardships which have resulted for people caught up in that transition. In no way does it constitute a return to the national origins system. but rather it facilitates the movement away from that principle. I should also like to associate myself with the remarks of the gentleman from Pennsylvania who pointed out the impact of this on the labor situation in the United States is de minimis. When we consider there are 5 million people unemployed in this country and that last year we sent back to their countries of origin 400.000 illegal immigrants who had entered this country illegally. and probably this year will send back a like amount. it seems to me we ought to bring out the fact also that under the leadership of the gentleman from New Jersey the subcommittee has had extensive hearings on this whole problem of illegal immigration and will soon be considering legislation to tighten up the enforcement of the immigration laws. If we really mean to do something about stopping immigration that has a real impact upon our unemployment problem in this country. we should concentrate on that rather than try to attack this very modest effort to correct inequities and eliminate hardships to individuals that resulted from the old national origins quota system.