Speech #970273165

DARs MR. CHAiwAw: On behalf of the United States Catholic Conference. the Catholic Bishops national organization. I commend you for your efforts over the past thirty years to reform our immigration laws to make them more equitable and responsive to human needs. In recent months you have directed your energies to having your Committee report a comprehensive immigration reform act. As the bill enters the final phase of the legislative process. I wish to express some concerns about it. Although the Conference continues to support H.R. 6514. it has serious reservations about some of its provisions and urges improvements if the bill is open to amendment on the House floor. The Catholic bishops have always emphasized family reunification in their approach to immigration questions. They believe the family unit is the foundation both for a more humane society and for the integration of the immigrant into American cul. ture. Therefore. the U.S. Catholic Confer. ence strongly endorses your efforts to amend H.R. 6514 to Increase the opportunities for family reunification through retention of certain family preference categories. Like you. the Conference would also like to see the bills legalization program made more generous by moving the cutoff date to January 1. 1982. I applaud your efforts in offering such an amendment in Committee. although unfortunately it did not pass.