Speech #980046545

Mr. President. for the second time in less than a year. the Senate has debated legislation that seeks to reform this countrys immigration policies. Undoubtedly. we all have felt the heat of public opinion. For every major poll conducted during the last few years has confirmed that a substantial majority of the American people support immigration reform. And with strong justification. Our immigration laws have not kept pace with a changing world. Consequently. we owe a debt of gratitude to my good friends. the distinguished Senators from Wyoming and Massachusetts for the insights they have brought to this debate and their efforts in addressing this very difficult issue. Historically. the Congress has attempted to review and reform our immigration laws sporadically. and often piecemeal. Mostly. it has avoided the issue altogether. Yet. for the first time in perhaps three decades. we have before us a billthe Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1983 -that will radically alter U.S. immigration policy. Mr. President. the Senate can only vote up or down on the bill before it. But I fear that many of those who will support this bill will do so with unrealistic expectations. If this body passes S. 529 with the hope that it will solve all the immigration problems facing this country. so that we can walk away and never worry about them again. we will be sadly disappointed. For this bill addresses on a shortterm basis complex problems that require longterm solutions. We cannot treat immigration policy as solely a domestic issue. For immigration into the United Statesboth lawful and unlawfulis the product of more than our domestic policies. It stems from many external forces. some of which we can control more effectively than others. And all of which lie beyond the scope of this bill. Traditionally. the United States has addressed the problem of unlawful immigration with conventional approachesscreening and preventing the entry of unauthorized persons at our borders. Few. if any. would suggest this approach has been entirely successful. This bill. while it enhances our enforcement efforts. also adopts a new policy: Reducing the incentives for persons to enter this country unlawfully. It seeks to remove the most attractive incentiveavailablejobs by imposing fines upon employers who hire unauthorized aliens. Although many of us may question whether this particular approach will work. this bill for the first time recognizes we could better address the problem of unlawful immigration not just by more effective patrolling of our borders but also by removing the underlying incentives. � But removing the domestic incentives for unlawful immigration will only carry us so far. We must also address the foreign incentives that cause persons to leave their homes and unlawfully enter into the United States. Clearly. so long as the quality of life here outweighs the hazards of the journey and the misery and injustice of life in their native homelands. persons will continue to come into this country. with or without proper documentation. And with every human rights violation. every collapse of a foreign government. every installment of a radical regime. every increase in the rate of inflation or unemployment in a neighboring country. the pressure on our borders and our immigration policies mounts. Mr. President. these foreign incentives are as much a driving force behind migration flows as the domestic incentive of job opportunities. Yet. we have heard virtually no discussion of these other factors. Thus. as the Senator from Massachusetts so aptly noted. we have considered this bill as if refugee and immigration flows occur only within our borders. We have considered the immigration issue as if it were in a vacuum. One need only look at current events in Latin America and the Caribbeanthe part of the world that most directly contributes to unlawful immigration into this countryto understand why we must take our consideration of immigration out of this vacuum and place it in its proper. global context. Mr. President. I particularly fear this body has not adequately taken into account the relationship between our immigration problems and the problems facing Mexico. While we debate whether to adopt these reforms. Mexico is suffering from its greatest economic crisis in 50 years.