Speech #920194514

Mr. Chairman. we are today considering a bill which would allow increased immigration into this country at a time when increased immigration is something we can ill afford. Our country is suffering the throes of economic change. moving from a waroriented economy to a peacetime one. We are beginning to increase employmentbut only beginningwe are facing constant social change and upheaval. Yet at this time of great social and economic change we are also being asked to increase the number of visas to immigrantsto bring more optimistic hopefilled people into a land not all that ready for them. But there is more here than just the raising of the numbers. of visas to persons wishing to move to this country. Our current program of immigration and work force balance is approaching the absurd. In a simplified way. while the State Department and Immigration Service are working to increase immigrantswhile they stand with their proverbial outstretched arms welcoming all who would come to the land with streets paved with goldthe Labor Department is frantically trying to keep the unemployment rate down. find jobs for those who have none. and make room in the American work force for American youth. The Department of Labor and Department of State are at odds. burning the candle at both ends. so to speak. not bothering to watch what the other is doing. with the Immigration Service holding the candle in the middle. All three. Mr. Chairman. are very close to getting burned and severely so. The following information will underscore my point. Canadian Nationals are often given special work visas along the northern tier of States. particularly Montana and North Dakota. as specially trained individuals needed for seismograph and survey crew work. Whole teams of Canadian Nationals have been given such visas when only one or two men in a fiveman crew is indeed a specially trained worker. While we have substantial unemployment along the Canadian border. with plenty of men needing work and willing to work at the tasks available on such crews. the Bureau of Immigration is stamping approvals on more and more Canadian National work permits every day. Especially in the case of Canadian workers. we have seen abuses which point out how lackadaisical the control of alien workers is. Some of the oil field workers have been working in Montana. making very substantial wages on special. supposedly shortterm permits for 3 years.