Speech #970143332

Mr. President. today I bring to the attention of the Senate an issue of great and growing concern to the citizens of our Nation and of particular concern to westerners. That concern is the existence of undocumented aliens in our society. We have. by some estimates. from 3 to 6 millions illegal aliens in this country. Immigration. legal and illegal. from the Third World has never been higher. The forces behind this flow of humanity to our bountiful shores will only get stronger. and our ability to deal responsibly with the issue rests largely on our ability to understand the circumstances of and reasons for the flow of foreigners into our Nation. We must come to grips with our acceptance and treatment of refugees from around the globe. We must gain some sense of control over our 2.000mile border with Mexico. It is. however. absolutely critical that we understand the situation before acting. I have studied the questions surrounding the flow of Mexican nationals into our Nation for several years and will. over the next few months. attempt to provide my colleagues with a greater understanding upon which we shall be able. in part. to determine the future of our Nations immigration laws. Unlike other political problems. there is no clear ideological division on these issues. There is no sharp "conservative" or "liberal" division. Moreover. immigration is a highly emotional issue involving ethnic and racial hopes. attitudes. and fears. which are not always clear or expressed. Immigration. in addition. involves emotions which are not easily compromised. It is no wonder then. that most experienced politicians see the immigration question as dangerous territory with serious shortrun costs and no clear advantages. They avoid the problem despite the fact that public opinion polls repeatedly show that the overwhelming majority of Americans are greatly dissatisfied with our present immigration policy and want the Government to take action to solve the problem. While I am in full agreement that something must be done. I am gravely concerned over the direction in which we might move. During the course of our discussions. I will concentrate my efforts on explaining the economic and social justification for continuing with a relatively free flow of Mexican nationals commuting into and out of our Nation. Undocumented temporary immigration has been going on for a long time. It results from fundamental structural characteristics of both United States and Mexican societies. Attempting to deal with the matter in a single stroke of congressional lawmaking would be disastrous. We must look at the big picture. of which the laws on our books relating to immigration are but a small part. This is an international question. There can be no unilateral effort on the part of Congress or the administration which will responsibly address this matter.