Speech #990010498

But the figure from just El Salvadorforget Nicaragua and Guatemala and the people that have a lot of vision and see what is going to happen in Costa Rica and Mexico if we do not have a strong foreign policybut just from El Salvador. a nation with the density of our great State of Massachusetts. identical density. identical size within a few hundred kilometers4.5 million people. A half million are already here in the United Statesmore than that. And 580.000 Salvadorans. almost every one of them illegal immigrants. are here in this country. and most of them flee the economic conditions. not the war. They flee also the impending problems that they see coming in that area because we do not have a firm consistent foreign policy down there. at least we did not until our great President Reagan took over the Chief Executives job. We will see a second wave of immigration from Central America. If our foreign policy fails there. they will double and quadruple. Millions of people will come north from that area fleeing to El Norte because this is the land of opportunity and they will not have to see their children slowly die. We may look at these horrible famines around the world and try to. as some misguided clerics have done to me. look at them in the abstract totally devoid of politics. We cannot do that. Communism causes starvation and refugees and we must have a consistent fair and intelligent policy of applying our foreign aid. particularly when a farmer comes up to me. because I voted on the side of budget restraint. and they say. "Its OK to help strangers in Ethiopia. but not to help our own U.S. farmers." If we are going to help people based on the level of their suffering. let us apply it universally and understand that although this country is loathe to ever use food as a weapon the way other countries would use commodities or minerals or oil as a weapon. we must have what the gentleman from Texas has called for. a careful analysis of where we are going here and what we are going to do when we help these people who are victims of totalitarian power. If we are going to help them while they are still inside and under the oppressive control of the totalitarian state. as they are in Ethiopia. we had better have an evenhanded policy with those who have fled into adjoining countries. such as Guatemala. Costa Rica.