Speech #970226741

So I am proud and I believe all Senators and staff who have participated in drafting and improving this bill should also be proud. Let me now briefly review the goals of this legislationwithout repeating any of the details of its provisions. The bill has as its singular intent the function of increasing control over both illegal and legal immigration. Most importantly. S. 2222 contains provisions intended to reduce the problem of illegal immigration. I say "most importantly" since the potential benefits and protections of even the most carefully designed statutory standards for determining who may enter the United States. as well as for how long and under what conditions they may remain. will not be available in practice if those statutory standards cannot be enforced. In order to reduce the primary incentive for illegal immigration. the availability of U.S. employment. the bill. first. makes unlawful the knowing employment. or the recruitment or referral for a fee. of illegal aliens. second. provides for a system to verify work eligibility. and third. establishes reasonable civil and criminal penalties for violations. In addition. the bill creates new crimes for certain activities involving fraudulent documents and for bringIng illegal aliens to the United States. states the sense of Congress that resources for conventional enforcement techniques should be increased. and requires the imposition of fees for use of INS border and other facilities. In order to further deter the violation of U.S. immigration law and to reduce the harmful impact of such violations when they do occur. through reducing the time illegal aliens are able to remain in the country after apprehension. S. 2222 provides for improvements in exclusion. deportation. and asylum proceduresimprovements which will make those procedures more efficient while preserving fundamental fairness. Mr. President. the bill is intended not only to reduce illegal immigration. but also to reform legal immigration so that it will better serve the national interest. The current system of numerical limitations is revised in order to reduce the growth in the number of immigrants to the United States. to reserve limited family reunification visas for the closest of family membersthose with the greatest need to live together. to increase the immigration opportunity of aliens who have no close relatives in the United States but who do have needed skills. and to preserve diversity in immigration flows. The labor certification requirement for certain preference categories is modified to permit certification based on general labor market information. rather than only on an analysis of the impact of specific aliens in specific Jobs. and to require a reasonable trainIng effort by employers. The bill also amends certain provisions of the law relating to nonimmigrants.