Speech #930120737

Chairman. I am pleased to join in support of H.R. 981. the Western Hemisphere preference bill. It was my pleasure to serve as a member of the Immigration. Citizenship. and International Law Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary during the extensive hearings on the illegal alien problem. I was privileged also to participate in significant hearings upon the operations of the immigration law since enactment of the 1965 amendments. In my judgment. H.R. 982. the illegal alien bill. and H.R. 981. before us today. deal logically and effectively with the two most pressing problems facing this Nation in the formulation of a continuing immigration policy. The two bills complement each other and might well have been considered in one legislative package. It is not possible to bring Western Hemisphere immigration under a systematic and effective system of prioritiesthat is a preference system for the issuance of visaswithout bringing the illegal alien problem under control as H.R. 982 will do. H.R. 981 Is a bill to provide uniformity and equity for natives of the Western Hemisphere by applying the same system of priorities and qualifications as has been in effect for the rest of the world since 1965. The failure to bring the Western Hemisphere under a preference system was an oversight which has disadvantaged natives of the countries in this hemisphere. The aliens applying for admission from the Eastern Hemisphere have had the opportunity to gain priority. because of family relationships with U.S. citizens or because of their special skills. There has been no such opportunity for natives of Western Hemisphere countries and. as a result. all must secure labor certificates and wait 2 years for a visa. This bill will bring a halt to this unfair situation. I am pleased. also. to note that H.R. 981 ends the last vestige of the old mostfavorednation policy by establishing one uniform maximum numerical ceiling for every country in the world.