Speech #980048026

President. it has frequently been my concern as a U.S. Senator and as a student of American history that all too often the relationship between American foreign and domestic policy is obscured. that policymaking in these two spheres is kept apart artificially and to the detriment of overall U.S. interests. I believe that the latest instance of this disregard of the importance of viewing these issues together was the recent passage of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1983. However. the purpose of the resolution I am introducing today is to help deal with a problem originating not in the artificial separation of domestic and international policy. but. in this instance. in the artificial linking of these policies. The problem that I refer to is the status of refugees coming from El Salvador to the United States. We are all well aware of our Nations relationship with the Government of El Salvador. The administration has made very clear its decision to help that government fight off leftist forces backed by Soviet/Cuban aid and institute economic reforms to help rectify years of oligarchial rule. I have supported the President in this decision. But we are considerably less aware of the extent to which refugees from El Salvador are coming into this country. the hardships that they have experienced prior to and in order to get here. andwhat is worst of allwe do not realize the hardships that they are forced to endure here in the United States. Now. the State Department had advised the Immigration and Naturalization Service that at this time it does not recommend the blanket granting of voluntary departure for illegal Salvadorans presently in the United States. A recommendation to grant voluntary departure for Salvadorans would include providing them a safe haven in the United States until the political situation in that nation stabilizes. as well as providing other special immigration measures such as permission to work in the United States. According to the State Department. the high levels of violence in El Salvador do not warrant the granting of voluntary departure to Salvadorans in the United States. The State Department justifies this determination by indicating that basic public services are still being maintained in El Salvador. particularly in the major cities.