Speech #930120727

I would like to state at the outset that I must oppose this amendment on the floor. as I did in committee. on the basic principle that all countries should be treated equally. This. in fact. is the overriding purpose of the legislation before us today. I would like to emphasiza. at this point. that the major thrust of H.R. 981 is to establish a reasonable and orderly system of immigration for the Western Hemisphere in place of the chaotic procedure now existing. The bill does not increase the present immigration ceilings. A second major purpose of H.R. 981 is amendment of the ambiguous and inadequate refugee provisions contained in the current law. The bill before us amends the definition of "refugee" to conform with the definition contained in the U.N. Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. to which the United States has acceded. The amended definition would remove the geographical and ideological limitations contained in the present law. and create a program which is worldwide in application. Refugees would continue to be granted conditional entry. as they are under the current law. with the opportunity to adjust their status to that of permanent resident alien after 2 years. H.R. 981 also grants the Attorney General specific authority to parole certain defined refugees into the country pursuant to a recommendation by the Secretary of State. and after consultation with the Congress. The parole authority in the present law Is unclear. too broad and is subject to misinterpretation. We have been particularly disturbed by the Attorney Generals use of his parole authority without consultation with the appropriate congressional committees. As we point out in the report on this legislationThe Congress is charged by the Constitution with responsibility for the regulation of immigration. and this responsibility does not cease in the presence of an emergency refugee situation. Another area which has been presenting difficulties is the labor certification program administered by the Department of Labor. Section 212(a) (14) of the Immigration and Nationality Act requires immigrants entering under the occupational preferences and specified Western Hemisphere immigrants to obtain certification from the Secretary of Labor to the effect that there are insufficient. willing and available U.S. workers in their occupation. and that their entry will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed. There is considerable evidence that this provision Is being administered unevenly in different regions of the country by the Labor Department. In general. the Department has been uncooperative with the Congress and uninformative with the public regarding labor certification.