Speech #990116304

That ship was in the harbor in order to collect grain and take it back to the Soviet Union. While the ship was wait- I ing in the harbor. this young sailor jumped overboard. 30 feet into the Mississippi. swam ashore. in order to escape into freedom. if you will. He was returned to the ship not once but twice by our Immigration and Naturalization Service. It is rather clear now. after the event is over. that the event was mishandled by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. and also by the State Department. We do not know why the situation was mishandled. but we are confident that it Was. We are concerned that perhaps the Immigration and Naturalization Service. perhaps the State Department. was more concerned about keeping amicable relations with the Soviet Union on the eve of the summit between Mr. Gorbachev and President Reagan than It was with the human rights. with the freedom of this young Soviet sailor of Ukrainian descent. I must say that if that was the motivation. if that sort of bureaucratic reasoning went into the decisions that were made to return sailor Medvid to his ship. those considerations have not been adopted by the American people. by Ukrainian Americans in particular and even more particularly by those in the United States. including one of my own constituents who believe that they may be related to this young sailor.