Speech #970274802

I think they have done great work. but it Is just not the vehicle. It is something that needs to be defeated and I intend to work very hard to defeat it if it is going to try to come through. Immigration to this country has played a vital role in our Nations growth and cultural development. Throughout our history. newcomers have strengthened and revitalized our country. My family. like the families of many in this chamber today. came here only a few short years ago. My grandparents. poor by any standard. emigrated from the Azores to build a better life for themselves and their children. and I certainly would not want to deny that opportunity to others in the future. We need not. indeed should not. abandon our historic policy of providing refuge to the poor and oppressed from around the globe. but at the same time we must come to grips with the new realities that face us and fashion an immigration policy that deals with the problems of today. not those of yesterday. Frontier America is gone. replaced by an America with an unemployment rate of nearly 11 percent. with dramatically higher unemployment in many industries and appallingly high unemployment among youth who are minoritygroup members. Our increasingly scare resources. our own economic problems. and our own social fabric demand a rational immigration policy. The United States. for all of its generosity. simply cannot continue to accept all of the people who wish to come here. According to demographers. the world population in the next 11 years will increase by 1 billion. We must face facts. whether we like them or not. The greatest threat to civilization aside from nuclear war is the population explosion. How far do we want to thin out our already thinned out resources and services available to the millions of American citizens who are poor and who are certainly keenly aware of and apprehensive about the masses of people abroad Just waiting to immigrate here? To those masses. the United States can offer food. supplies. and leadership in the future. but it surpasses even our power to offer a physical home to all of the poor and homeless. We will continue to do what we can. where we can. as we have always done. but we must balance our generosity with the needs of our own society. We can help no one if our land. resources. and environment are drained and our social system is in ruins. We must stop illegal immigration. and bring legal immigration. Including refugee admissions. under control. The bill before us is far from perfect. as its sponsors acknowledge. but it is basically a good bill. and I support its basic thrustto impose some rational. orderly control over immigration. While enforcement at our land and sea borders is important as a preventive measure. it is only partially effective. The economic incentive to illegal immigrationemploymentmust be removed and the only way to do this effectively and fairly is through employer sanctions and a fraudproof enrollment and verification system that applies to all employers. those who recruit or refer for employment. and to all Job applicants. I jecognize that there are those who .Igue that employer sanctions would only Increase discrimination agaiilst minorities. and certainly there is reason for Hispanics and others to fear that employers. faced with the prospect of stiff penalties for hiring illegal aliens. would simply refuse to hire anyone who looked or spoke "foreign." That is why I concluded years ago that a simple but secure system of identification was the key to a workable program. as it would protect employers and those who refer or recruit people for employment. as well as members of minority groups legally in this country. As a matter of fact. because I believe so strongly that a national identifier is a prerequisite for any effective program of employer sanctions. I intend to offer an amendment to require implementation of such a program in 2 years instead of 3. I also feel it is unreasonable and unfair to place the burden totally on employers. and will. therefore. offer amendments to extend the requirement for checking identification to all those who employ. or refer or recruit for employment. including those with three or fewer employees. With respect to legal immigration. I will support efforts to reinstate an annual ceiling. to include refugees and asylees. That ceiling must be consistent with our own national interest. with consideration of. but not controlled by. worldwide pressures to immigrate here. Our own needs should determine our immigration policies and admission numbers. There should be no loopholes in the ceiling. but there should be sufficient flexibility to respond to emergency situations. Only with this kind of strong. firm congressional action can the President stand up to other nations and require them to share the burdens of controlling refugee and immigrant flows. I do not agree with those who argue that by putting immigrants and refugees under one ceiling. the humanitarian and human rights values for which we stand as a nation would be seriously questioned. We are a generous and humanitarian people and we have never failed to respond to true crises and emergencies abroad. Should such a crisis occur in the future. I have no doubt that the American people would open their arms and their hearts as they have done in the past and. if necessary. compel Congress to respond with special legislation. Like so many people who have studied our illegal immigration problem. I find myself frustrated by the legalization or "amnesty" issue. To the exent that a program rewards lawbrakers while penalizing those who have obeyed the law.