Speech #1000080181

As a matter of fact. if I came to the United States. there are probably some areas in the United States I would avoid. Does anybody realize we had 20.000 murders in the United States last year? Under the basis for this bill. there are probably some areas of the United States that we would declare unsafe. and would allow people to come from as refugees. There are certain inner cities of these United States in terms of violence which are every bit as bad as the worst places of El Salvador. Last. I would say this. this bill simply flies in the face of the adoption of the Refugee Act and of the immigration bill we passed just last year. Many of us were on the floor imploring the House to support the immigration bill. We asked the Members to vote for a legalization program. so that we could somehow do justice to the people who are here. and also settle on a realistic and enforceable immigration law. Here we are less than a year after that bill has gone into effect. on a countryspecific basis making an exception. We are saying that the exception is based on the question of violence. but extending it not to just those people who have a fear of persecution. but any Salvadoran who happens to be here. including all of those who got here prior to the problems that were occurring that they referred to in this particular bill.