Speech #970224234

Mr. President. the crisis situation of rampant illegal immigration to the United States is obviously a complex problem which has been steadily growing more serious over the past 20 years. and especially over the past decade. The result is that we currently have a population of 3.5 to 6 million persons or maybe more who came to this country illegally because they knew they would find work and who are now living as a furtive underclass. afraid to claim even the most basic of human rights. The existence of such a class of underground residents undermines the fabric of our democratic society. and this problem must be addressed as part of a comprehensive effort to control illegal immigration. The most obvious answer to this problem would seem to be to simply locate and to deport these aliens who are illegally in this country. However. as the distinguished Senator of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Policy has pointed out. "If they could not be located when they were coming in. how can we find them to get them out?" Even if we were to substantially beef up our interior enforcement for the INS. which is doubtful in these times of trimming the Federal budget. it would still be practically impossible to apprehend these persons who come from many countries and are located in all States. During the Iranian crisis. as an example. the INS was unable to apprehend even the Iranian students who had entered legally and for whom INS had records. Furthermore. we know that many of the illegal immigrants are concentrated disproportionately in certain industries and geographical areas which have grown dependent on their labor. Even if we could locate these persons. their sudden removal could cause severe economic disruption for a temporary period of time in those industries and areas of the country that have grown dependent upon these workers. Also. attempts at mass deportation have been undertaken in the past such as Operation Wetback in 1954. and the rights of many citizens and permanent residents of Hispanic background were violated in the course of that drive. Finally. this Nation. I believe. is unwilling to place an army on the borders. thereby straining the cordial relations with our neighbors Canada and Mexico. If it is true that over half of the illegal immigrants1.5 to 3 millionare from Mexico. then a sudden deportation of such a large number to a country that already has unemployment and underemployment rates of 30 to 40 percent. a burgeoning population. and a severe economic difficulty would almost certainly jeopardize the stability of that country and possibly our own strategic interests. A stable country to the south is clearly in our national interest. The only realistic remedyand I say this after considerable thoughtto deal with the current population of undocumented immigrants in the United States is to legitimatize their status in a way which will insure that these people continue to work and will become productive and participating members of their communities. I have worked very closely with Senator SIMPSON and with the Reagan administration on this problem. Clearly. a legalization program is needed. but the Reagan administration has indicated that the legalization provisions reported by the full Judiciary Committee in S. 2222 are likely to produce a heavy expense to the Federal Government. as these people would be able to adjust status after only 2 years to permanent residence and thereupon become eligible for the full range of public assistance benefits available to our citizens. We hope these persons will continue to work. and we believe they will. Nevertheless. as we saw with the refugee program. access to cash assistance programs can create high rates of public dependency among groups that formerly were hard working in their homeland. Therefore. I have worked closely with Senator SIMPSON and the administration in developing a compromise legalization program which will insure legal status for the vast majority of illegal immigrants. while limiting the eligibility to financial assistance programs for a period of time. Because these persons may be eligible for medical or financial assistance programs available to citizens by the individual States. we have also added a provision for a block grant program to the impacted States in meeting excess costs attributable to this population. Essentially. this amendment will grant permanent resident status to illegal immigrants who entered before January 1. 1977. and have resided here continuously. and it will grant temporary status to those who entered prior to January 1. 1980. After 3 years of temporary residence. the latter group may adjust status to permanent residency. The temporary residents are ineligible for all Federal assistance programs. such as AFDC. food stamps. and medicaid. The permanent residents are ineligible for Federal programs for the first 3 years of their permanent residence. I believe this compromise reflects a workable legalization program which is fair to those illegal immigrants who have established ties with the United States as well as with the American people.