Speech #990043231

Mr. Speaker. our Nation rightly prides itself on being a melting pot. a Nation built by succeeding generations of immigrants who have constantly enriched our Nation with their diverse cultures and their strong commitment to the ideals of freedom. democracy. and opportunity of their new land. The powerful attraction of the United States is both a tribute to our way of life and a challenge to our society. We wish to remain open to continuing transfusion of idealism and diversity caused by immigration. while at the same time protecting our citizens. our economy. and our resources from the impact of uncontrolled growth. Striking that crucial balance is the important task of our immigration laws. For two decades. the preference system for admitting new immigrants has heavily favored those nations with very recent histories of immigration. while preventing large numbers of new Americans from entering from those countries whose sons and daughters came to our shores more than a single generation ago. A person who does not fit into one of the narrow preference categorieseither a close relative of a U.S. resident or an individual of exceptional professional qualificationsis effectively excluded from coming to our shores. Since our country began keeping immigration records in 1820. 70 percent of the people who came to our shores arrived from Europe. Yet in the last 20 years. immigration from that continent has slowed to a trickle. In fiscal year 1984. only 12 percent of the new arrivals in the United States came from Europe. and Europe accounted for oaly 8.8 percent of the 260.000 admitted under the preference system. One particular illustration of the trend is Ireland. Between 1820 and 1981. 4.692.856 Irish immigrated to the United States. In fiscal year 1984. only 537 qualified for admission to the United States under the preference system. Today. I am proposing legislation that will allow some flexibility in our immigration code to take into account not only the immigrants who have arrived in recent years as a basis for future generations. but also the historical patterns of immigration that built our Nation. Additional visas would be made available to countries that have contributed to our melting pot in past generations. and 30 percent of those visas would be reserved for those individuals who. through no fault of their own. are unable to lay claim to one of the narrowly defined preference categories. I urge my colleagues to give this important issue serious consideration and support.e