Speech #970249482

At that time. I hope to support the bill. It is essential for this country to come to grips with its burgeoning Immigration problems. Control of the Nations borders is one of the most basic attributes of sovereignty and we are running a very serious risk of losing that control altogether. Most commentators agree that our 30year old immigration law is hopelessly out of date for solving the problems of a bountiful country in the troubled world of the 1980s. The urgency of immigration reform is not lost on the average American. who demands decisive action. A recent Roper poll showed 91 percent of Americans in favor of an allout effort to stop illegal immigration. 80 percent also in favor of curbing legal immigration. After listening to literally hundreds of witnesses and studying the issue in considerable detail. the Senate Judiciary Committee painted a bleak picture indeed. It concluded that immigration to the United States is out of control and that our immigration law is no longer adequate to deal with modern conditions. The following facts were established: Total legal admissions to the United States in 1965 stood at 300.000. in 1980 that number had increased 167 percent to 800.000 annually. In the last 5 years. the unrestricted immigration category of immediate relatives of U.S. citizens grew 40 percent from 114.000 to 152.000 annually. Refugee admissions rose from only 5.000 in 1977 to a staggering 200.000 in The United States today is accepting over twice as many refugees and legal residents for permanent settlement than the rest of the world combined. The estimated annual inflow of illegal immigrants is 500.000 every year. despite the fact that over 1 million people are apprehended and turned away annually. The total number of immigrants Illegally in the country has been estimated at between 6 and 10 million. Estimates vary as to the percentage of illegal immigrants holding jobs that currently unemployed Americans could perform. but the Congressional Budget Office has said each 1 percent Job displacement of this kind costs $420.000 a year in unemployment benefits. Combined legal and illegal immigration accounts for 30 to 50 percent of our annual population increase of about 2 million people. Added to these facets of the problem is the general American attitude toward immigration. We are. as it is often said. a Nation of immigrants and this nation has been enriched by the diverse cultural legacies of all the countries of the world. Americans are proud of their wealth of opportunity and political freedom and are generous enough to want to share them with homeless and oppressed of the troubled world. Whose pulse does not quicken on hearing the words that are etched on the Statue of Liberty. who would want to extinguish that beacon of comfort? This. then. was the dilemma that was faced by Senator SIMPSON and the Immigration Subcommittee he leads with such skill and competence. After long deliberation of the critical and complex set of problems before it. the subcommittee produced a reform bill that is a classic political compromise of difficult issues and competing interests. In my opinion. however. the compromises that resulted in S. 2222 have fashioned an immigration bill which. although wellintentioned. cannot work in practice. Although I have some serious reservations about the two essential components of the reform packageamnesty for illegal aliens and employer sanctionsI would be willing to adopt a measure constructed on this foundation. if doing so would solve our immigration problem one and for all. However. I believe these two fundamental provisions have been distorted by the political compromise process and do not reflect a workable approach for solving this difficult problem. Some form of an amnesty program for illegal aliens can be justified. where they have longestablished equitable claims and are settled. productive members of their communities. Such a program would not only be in their interest. but also in the interest of citizens in general. A large undocumented population is an easily exploitable subclass of our society that fears to report crimes and illnesses that threaten the public as a whole. Nor do I favor a massive roundup of illegal aliens. Such an effort is beyond the resources of the Immigration and Naturalization Service and would not in any case be worth the expense in terms of dollars. the potential abuse of human and constitutional rights. or disruption of our communities. Last April. we had a limited example of such a program in the form of operation Jobs. which could by no means be called a success in the Denver metropolitan area. That experience in fact. and the fear and indignation it inspired in Colorados Hispanic community. caused me to amend S. 2222 with a measure protecting the constitutional rights. personal safety. and human dignity of citizens and aliens alike. In my view. any amnesty program should be workable and consistent with our national interests. and should not in any way encourage further undocumented migration. The amnesty provision in S. 2222 does not pass these tests. I do not see how the already overwrked INS can properly screen the millions of likely applicants for amnesty. Moreover. the bill does not eliminate the possibility of attracting more illegal immigrants. I believe we have put the cart before the horsewe should stop the flow of illegal migration before we implement any amnesty program. Bad as the problem of illegal migration currently is. we may be witnessing only the thin edge of the wedge.