Speech #970223907

Mr. President. I am pleased that S. 2222 requires a new annual immigration ceiling that includes immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. Immediate relatives of American citizens is one of the fastest growing immigration categories. Between 1976 and 1980. the number of immediate relatives increased 40 percent from 114.000 to 152.000. Yet this significant source of immigration into the United States is not counted against our annual immigration quota. This gives us an unrealistic impression of the number of aliens who are being admitted to the United States each year. Our immigration cap is 270.000 but the number of legal immigrants who actually enter the United States each year is over 400.000 refugee admissions raise the number of illegal immigrants to nearly 600.000 in an average year. I believe that the United States should be able to decide in advance exactly how many new residents we will accept each year from foreign nations. Family reunification should be one of the primary objectives of our immigration policies. S. 2222 retains that objective by allowing for unlimited entry of immediate family members of U.S. citizens but it requires that those family members be counted against our annual immigration ceiling. Mr. President. I believe that S. 2222 is a good bill that will make many improvements in our immigration laws. It will close some of the most glaring loopholes in our current laws and holds the promise of restoring order to our chaotic immigration policies. but I believe the bill could be strengthened to make it even more effective. I would like to take the opportunity today to mention ways in which I believe the bill could be made even more effective. My first concern is with the failure to include refugees in the immigration ceiling. When Senator HUDDLESTON offers his amendment to include refugees in the cap. I will have some further remarks on this issue. At this point. it is worth noting that our immigration laws are among the most generous in the world. The United States accepts more immigrants and refugees than any other nation. In fact. we accept more than all the other nations put together. But if we are to provide jobs and a healthy economy for the people who are already here. we must place limits on that generosity. If we accept the premise that we need a ceiling on immigration. then it seems to me that all aliens who come to the United States. with the intention of staying should be included in the ceiling. regardless of whether they come to reunite with their families. to work. or to escape persecution. The failure to include refugees in the annual immigration cap is a serious omission in the bill which will perpetuate one of the loopholes in legal immigration policies today. I hope that we will act to correct this problem in the bill. I am also concerned that S. 2222 does not provide adequate safeguards against the kind of immigration emergency that we experienced in Florida. We need to have a contingency plan in place which outlines exactly what steps the Federal Government will take in the event of another immigration emergency. The reforms that S. 2222 calls for in the asylum procedures will greatly enhance our ability to control an immigration emergency. but those reforms do not go far enough. I feel strongly that we need to address the issue of the Federal Governments responsibility for averting another immigration crisis and that we must clarify the Presidents authority to act to prevent another massive. uncontrolled influx of aliens within the context of this bill. In conclusion. Mr. President. again I commend Senator SimPsoN. Senator KENNEDY. and all of the members of the subcommittee for their efforts to bring about comprehensive reform of our immigration laws. This is a monumental task and I believe that S. 2222 is an admirable legislative package. It gives us an opportunity to eliminate the growing problems in our immigration laws. and to restore the United States to a position in which we. not other governments. or the people of other nations. control immigration to this country. I hope that the Senate will use this opportunity to close all of the loopholes in our immigration laws and to pass a strong. comprehensive immigration reform bill.