Speech #1000107367

President. I wish to add my support to the Humanitarian Family Unity Act of 1987 which Senator CHAFEE seeks to add to the State Department authorization bill. It has been almost a year since the 99th Congress passed the Immigration Reform and Control Act. We recognized that the final bill represented a compromise and a balance between employer sanctions and a legalization program. Clearly. it was not a comprehensive answer to our immigration needs for that is a longterm process which requires efforts to improTe economic development. free institutions. and peace in Latin America. But one step we can take today to improve upon the bill passed last year is passing this amendment which will keep families together without having to forego obtaining legal status in the United States. This Congress intended that the maximum number of aliens eligible for legalization be legalized. In the Immigration Subcommittee. I and my colleagues have raised the family unity issue a number of times. I have been made aware of instances in which eligible aliens are not coming forward to apply for legalization not because they themselves are not eligible but because they have a family member who has met the requirements except for being continuously in the United States since January 1. 1982. For those people. the choice between legalization for themselves and possible deportation of their spouse or children or separation from them is a choice we should not force them to make. Fortunately. the INS District Director in my State of Illinois has stated that. "If a person in the family has a legal claim [to amnesty]. then we should unify them here." (Chicago Sun Times. Mar. 23. 1987.) However. that welcoming call has not been echoed in all INS districts which further necessitates Congiess taking action now. This amendment will make clear that unified families are important to this Nation as well as to the longterm prospects of selfsufficiency of those who are affected by the Immigration Reform and Control Act. I urge its adoption. I ask unanimous consent to have the following articles printed in the REcoRD: First. Chicago SunTimes. "Alien Amnesty Splits Families." March 23. 1987. second. Chicago Tribune. "Keep Immigrants Families Together." April 4. 1987. third. San Francisco Progress. "Amnesty Seekers Must Know They Can Keep Their Families Together." August 23. 1987. and fonrth. "Atlanta Journal/Constitution. "Families of Immigrants Deserve Amnesty." July 17. 1987.