Speech #970226789

Mr. President. I would be terribly remiss if this opportunity were not seized to express my admiration for the role my distinguished colleague from Wyoming and the whole Immigration Subcommittee. has played in bringing S. 2222 to the point of final passage. In light of the competing interests and emotions involved. I had serious reservations as to whether the Senate would ever be able to dispose of this needed immigration reform legislation. But those fears of mine were quickly allayed by the sensible leadership of my good friend. AL SIMPSON. He was able to avoid the high drama that so often accompanies highly controversial bills and. in the process. allowed the consideration of S. 2222 to be on the merits and not on the emotions. I am pleased with the result. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1982 is a wellbalanced approach to dealing with the serious inadequacies characterizing this countrys policies on legal and illegal immigration. This bill is long overdue and it will fill a void created by the conflicting foreign and domestic policies on immigration of past years. The key to the bill. the employer sanctions section. is a tough initiative that none of us in the Senate embraced without reservation. The added paperwork and the added presence of the Federal Government in the private sector is an anathema to most of the Members of this body. However. the overwhelming consensus reached by the various committees and commissions that have studied the problems associated with illegal immigration was that the United States could no longer overlook the option of making it unlawful for an employer to hire an illegal alien. There is no such prohibition under current law. and I am persuaded that the time has come for such a provision. No one questions why America has a problem with illegal Immigrants. We are the most prosperous and promising Nation in the worldthe golden land of opportunity. But while throughout our history we have been able to assimilate an unregulated flow of immigrants to this country. we have reached a point in history where our resources and infrastructures are no longer capabile of bearing the weight of such an unrestrained flow of admissions. America must still lead the free world and must still adhere to its commitment to the principles beautifully represented on the Statue of Liberty. The permitted admission of 425.000 persons per year for family reunification and for special immigration purposes. as well as our countrys current refugee policy which permits this country to accept with open arms those fleeing from political or religious persecution. will allow this country to continue to honor this commitment to freedom and human rights. I was especially pleased to see the Senate reject the two amendments which would have jeopardized our countrys ability to respond to international crises involving refugee issues. Our immigration and refugee policies must be coordinated. and in a short time. this body will have the opportunity to assess the direction in which our countrys refugee policy should head when it takes up the reauthorization of the Refugee Act of 1980. While I voted in favor of final passage of S. 2222. I have grave concerns over some of the provisions agreed to in the bill.