Speech #970241984

Children fathered by American citizens who. through no fault or action of their own. have been and are being subjected to the cruelest ridicule. abuse. and overt discrimination because they are onehalf American. These children. though blameless in the eyes of God. have been forced to bear alone the brunt of antiAmerican sentiment and cultural biases that stigmatize illegitimate or mixed children. These Amerasians are damned to a life of noncitizenship. and they are in these dreadful situations simply because the U.S. presence in Southeast Asia put them there. Americans left Southeast Asia long ago and regrouped. but these children were not able to come along. They have been left to pick up the fragile pieces of their broken lives in an environment assuredly hostile to their emotions and interests. Up until today. the United States. through operation of its immigration policy. has turned a deaf ear to the cries of the Amerasian children. To the credit of the many people who have persisted in drawing attention to this truly American tragedy. the day is now upon us to respond in a humanitarian fashion to a situation which begs our compassion. Mr. President. contrary to what some individuals have maintained over the years. legislation similar to S. 1698 will not encourage fraudulent entry by illegal aliens. That argument has always been specious at best. and does not apply to S. 1698. We are talking here about children. children who have a distinct American appearance and who can prove through evidence such as letters. past financial support. and local testimony and birth records. that they are the children of U.S. citizens. Further. we are talking about children who have sponsors in America that are willing to guarantee financial support until the child is at least 21. or. if the Amerasian is older than 16. support for at least 5 years. The Amerasian immigration bill allows the Attorney General to consider appearance and other means of verification when reviewing an application for a first or fourth preference immigration visa. and it institutes a guaranteed support mechanism to insure the Amerasians will not be public charges. Indeed. the Senate can be proud for facing up to this unfortunate legacy of our days in Vietnam. Cambodia.