Speech #960257976

Mr. President. yesterday the Senate adopted to the Department of Justice authorization bill the Huddleston amendment as amended addressing immigration to this country. This amendment was prompted by the recent influx of refugees. It seems that we only deal with immigration issues when we are faced with what appears to be a crisis. This most recent example of "boat people." both the Cubans and the Haitians. are evidence to the fact that the United States is still viewed as both the land of freedom and the land of economic opportunity. These views are shared by the most visible migrations such as the Indochinese. Cuban. and Haitian as well as the less dramatic migrations including the undocumented workers entering this country. particularly from our neighbor to the south. Mexico. It is estimated that between 2 and 4 million illegal Mexican nationals are presently in this country. They come to the United States seeking economic opportunity and generally stay for 6 to 8 months at a time. These undocumented workers fill jobs that are going unfilled by Americans. This situation poses us with a challenge and requires careful Congressional consideration. We must amend our immigration laws to deal with the reality of undocumented workers and the economic situations in both the United States and Mexico. Last year. I. for myself.