Speech #980179828

S. 2131 requires that the President shall investigate and report within 18 months on the conditions of displaced Salvadorans within El Salvador and in the neighboring countries of Honduras. Guatemala. and Mexico. The bill also requires that the President report on the conditions and fates of Salvadoran nationals deported from the United States. with particular attention to those who have suffered violations of fandamental human rights upon their return to El Salvador. I believe that the 18month reporting period is far to long. Several organizations have already done substantial work in categorizing and identifying Salvadorans who have been returned to El Salvador. S. 2131 suspends deportation of Salvadorans for up to 3 years while the President and Congress investigate the treatment of displaced Salvadorans inside and outside El Salvador. Both Senator GORTON and I have expressed our concern that the 3year suspension delays needed reforms far too long. We would prefer an 18month formula. The Presidential report would be furnished in the first 6 months. to be followed by congressional hearings on the issue in the House and Senate Judiciary Committees in the next 6 months. and to be concluded in the final 6 months by a legislative solution based on the findings of the Presidential report. As the report of the National Bipartisan Commission on Central America noted. resettlement of displaced persons throughout the Central American region remains in urgent shortterm objective of U.S. policy. Although the primary focus of S. 2131 is upon immigration reform. I would urge the Reagan administration to act to improve the availability of safe haven for displaced persons within the Central American region. Efforts must be made to provide for the security of persons in these resettlement camps. I believe that a stronger commitment to assisting the resettlement program in the Central American region would reduce the flow of undocumented Salvadorans to this country. My support of the granting of extended voluntary departure stems from my firm conviction that it is a humanitarian approach for dealing with a serious problem that exceeds the bounds of human decency. It is a humane approach to an inhumane problem.