Speech #980004759

The essay follows: [From the San Diego Law Review. No. 1 FOREWORD (By Senator Alan K. Simpson) No other country in the world so powerfully attracts potential migrants as does the United States. No other country approaches the United States in the number of legal immigrants accepted or refugees permanently resettled. I deeply believe most Americans are very proud of both our reputation and our record as truly being a land of opportunity and refugeand I believe that reputation and that record have generally been very good for this country. However. existing immigration policy is no longer adequate to deal with the growing immigration pressure on the United States. Immigration to the United States is out of control and it is so perceived at all levels of government and by the American people. and indeed by people all over the world. Reform is imperative. This does not mean shutting ourselves off from the rest of the world. Immigration to America has been limited in various ways for more than a century and has been subject to various forms of numerical limitation for over sixty years. Immigration will continue to benefit the United States if the law is reasonably amended to be appropriate for contemporary conditionsand if the law can be enforced. Last year in his Foreword to this annual issue on immigration Senator Edward M. Kennedy said: "[Tloday we are at a watershed in our Nations effort to establish fair. humane and enforceable immigration and refugee policies. At no time in recent years has the opportunity for action on immigration proposals been more hopeful. or the consequences of inaction more dangerous." I I agree with these sentiments and I am pleased that the legislation 2 which Congressman Romano Mazzoli (DKy.) and I cosponsored in the Congress and introduced on March 17. 1982. was characterized as "not nativist. not racist. not mean" 3 in the press. This is a major accomplishment. I am pleased also that for the first time in our history an immigration debate is taking place which is not wallowing in emotionalism. racism and guilt. This is not an accident. It is a tribute to the many witnesses who testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Policy and the interest groups which have lobbied their positions before us. The press has also maintained a lofty tone. And finally. I am very proud of the manner in which the debate on these sensitive issues was conducted among my colleagues in the Senate. All were conscious of the past history in connection with immigration legislation and were determined not to duplicate in our deliberations the racism which characterized the 1880. 1924. or 1952 legislative enactments. I was also conscious of the need both to make immigration a bipartisan issue and to balance two conflicting traditions within the United States: on the one hand. a desire to continue our tradition of immigration. of welcoming newcomers. and on the other hand. the need to control the influx of persons entering the United States. My counI Senator Edward M. Kennedy.