My bill leaves a civil rights remedy to hearings and consensus. Now that the Judiciary Committees of both Houses have comprehensive bills before them. I would hope that we can begin again to find a solution to what I believe is one of the most important domestic and foreign policy questions of this last quarter century. namely. comprehensive immigration reform. At present. our borders are crossed by thousands upon thousands of economic migrants each year. and their numbers swell the populations of our cities and create devastating competition for jobs at the lower end of the economic scale. Moreover. in southern California. we have had an increase in episodes of violence along our southern border. A 13yearold boy was shot just a couple of weeks ago by a Border Patrol officer responding to rocks being thrown by a mob. A couple of days later. a Border Patrol officer was shot five times by bandits along the border. Things are not going to get better. they are only going to get worse. Unless we in the Congress move to enact legislation dealing with our immigration problem in this Congress. we are gambling with the goodwill of the American people. This country has been built by immigrants. and it is unique in the world community as a haven for the destitute and the dispossessed. But the tolerance of the people as an essential. though mercurial. ingredient in maintaining an humanitarian immigration policy running up against an obsolete immigration statute invites abuse and disrespect. Senator SIMPSON has once again taken a giant step toward responsible action. Twice before. his leadership has moved the Senate to action ahead of the House.
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immigrants immigration Border Patrol migrants