Speech #1000086736

They stayed there for nearly 2 weeks." The significance of this tale is even greater than at first glance. for according to OBrien. "Captain White distributed some potato plants among the people. the first ever seen in Europe. It is generally supposed that it was Raleigh who first brought the potato plant to Europe. but according to Whites account. it was he who introduced it. and that it was the inhabitants of County Kerry who were the first Europeans to taste the esculent tuber." While many of us may not be familiar with the story of the introduction of potatoes to Ireland. most schoolchildren can recite the tale of devastation and famine in that country when the potato crop failed. The mass waves of Irish immigration to this country during the 1800s are directly linked to the potato famines of that time. In "Beyond the Melting Pot." (1963) I wrote that "the basis of Irish hegemony in New York City was the famine emigration of 184650. By 1890. a full quarter of the citys population were Irish." And indeed. this country has prospered because of the unique qualities and contributions of the Irish. As President Kennedy said during his historic address to the Parliament of the Republic of Ireland on June 28. 1963. "It is the quality of the Irish. the remarkable combination of hope. confidence. and imagination that is needed now more than ever today * * *. We need men who can dream of things that never were. and ask why not." But now. because the Irish presence in country began so long ago. the citizens of this and other similarly situated countries are finding the once welcoming shores of America closed to them. In the interest of fairness. something must be done. That is why I join Senator KENNEDY in introducing the Immigration Act of 1987. In brief. this bill would increase the number of nonpreference visas. which would be available on a point system. which among other things. would allow additional points for being from a country which was adversely affected by the 1965 Immigration Act. The purpose is simple. that is. to rectify the legal inequity which keeps the ancestors of the early voyagers and immigrants to this country from being accorded equal treatment under our immigration laws. The solution is simple. and I urge my colleagues to support this essential proposal. By Mr.