Mr. President. this is in essence the fourth time in 4 years that the Senate has been asked to consider comprehensive immigration reform legislation. I say that because the bill before us is distinctly different from the bills that have passed the Senate in previous years. and it is very different from the original S. 1200 that was approved by the Senate in September 1985. It is. in fact. so different. that it justifies a new look at this complex and troublesome issue. Since 1980. with the recommendations of the select commission on immigration and refugee policy. three main concerns have dominated this long debate: First. liberal amnesty for those individuals who have established a place for themselves in this land of refuge and opportunity. second. the imposition of employer sanctions for knowingly hiring illegal aliens. and third. adequate civil rights protections to guard against discrimination based on alienage. These three elements taken together have served as the foundation for a variety of legislative proposals. and the failure to adequately take each element into account has been the reason each of the previous bills has failed. Despite some serious doubts about some provisions in this bill. it is time to accept a new approach. If it is a truism that the United States is a nation of immigrants. it is also fair to say that it can no longer be a nation of unlimited immigration. While our Nation must remain the beacon of hope and refuge for "all of the huddled masses yearning to be free." we must be guided by the basic national and security interests of the people of the United States. And our people are telling us. from Maine to California. that the time has come to act.
Keywords matched
immigrants immigration refugee illegal aliens