Speech #980003675

Strings attached to the aid become economic imperialism and the nostrings approach often results in the purchase of tanks and jets rather than rice and flour. If our aid outside the United States must be limited. so must the aid within. For similar reasons. we cannot accept unlimited immigration into the Nation. our resources would soon be inadequate to provide basic needs. Also. the effects upon the social fabric of a greatly expanded immigration would probably cause considerable dislocations. both in the United States and in the country donating the immigrants. There is undeniably a which came first question about Mexico. For instance. many social problems are responsible for the flood of immigrants. But it also true that. if we skim off the vigorous portion of a developing nations population. we can expect a serious rending of the social fabric in that country. Our obligations are. in sum. to provide all that we can to the worlds poor. but to recognize that our resources are limited and the problem. at least in numbers. is growing every day. We can point to a general responsibility to provide aid to needy populationsnot necessarily countries. We can also identify an obligation on our part to provide a home for a certain number of immigrants. There are two separate groups of immigrants for which reasonable policies must be designed: those arriving in the United States and those already here. In the realm of social services. those already in the United States pose the most serious problems. There are between 3 million and 7 million illegal residents in the United States. and the practical obstacles to deporting this vast number are the strongest arguments for a limited amesty program that gives citizenship to those who have been here a specified length of time. These immigrants now contribute to the economy. the tax system. and to the necessary labor force. Beyond any sense of equity. we need to keep these residents. There is also the argument that. without legalizing the status for current illegal residents. future limitations would be meaningless. Thus. the limitation on immigration is necessary to protect the institutions and the social structure of the Nation. The Nation cannot continue to bear the burden of overpopulation. social injustice. labor unrest. and unemployment in other countries as well. The National Association of Counties has proposed a 3year residence limit for citizen status: If an illegal immigrant has stayed continuously in the United States for 3 years without running afoul of the law. he or she would be granted citizens status. The association has also proposed a humane policy of allowing close relatives of those who gain citizenship through amnesty to come to the United States and apply for residency. Once the status of our current immigrant population is resolved. it will be time to devise a process that allows for new residents. We need a system that grants legal immigration and penalizes illegal immigration. both by deportation of illegal immigrants as well as by imposing stiff penalties on those who employ them. The proposed guest worker program is severely lacking in this sense. as it would require a large and cumbersomeand probably ineffectivebureaucracy as well as encourage illegal immigration. It is evident that a number of groups within our immigrant population need extensive social and health services. Beyond the moral sense of obligation to these. many of whom are unwilling refugees from oppression. the practical needs of a society to provide for those on the lowest rungs of the social ladder are compelling. We dare not create an underclass of underprivileged. underserved. and uninvolved citizens. For public health reasons we must provide basic health services. For the health of the society. we must provide the social programs that ameliorate the poverty and the distress. It is shortsighted in the extreme to think that we can ignore with impunity the social and physical needs of immigrants. If they are ever to become fully assimiliated and productive members of our society. they need our help now. The investment in social services to immigrants. legal or otherwise. will be repaid time and time again. The relatively small costs associated with health and social care are easy to justify when compared with the costs of not preventing the social and physical disease at the outset. It is unfortunate that the greatest problems and pressures of immigration have come upon this Nation in a time of rapidly dwindling Government and natural resources. It is an almost automatic reaction to think in terms of services to those who have been here the longest. but that is a reaction that will harm us in the long run. By allocating a substantial portion of our social services budget for the immigrants. the refugees in our society will pay dividends in better management of resources. a greatly reduced drain on the system in the near future. and a wealth of new. vital blood into our society.e