Mr. President. today marks the 1 year anniversary of the day President Reagan signed the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 into law. and the end of the first half of the 1year application period for the acts legalization program. As some of my colleagues have already noted. the legislation that was enacted 1 year ago represents years of hard work. negotiation. and compromise among members of Congress crafting a law that would effectively resolve the problems associated with the existence of an undocumented subclass in our country and allowing INS to concentrate its resources on preventing new illegal entry and visa abuse. Mr. President. some of my colleagues will recall that I was not quick to embrace this legislative proposal. From the beginning I was concerned that the amnesty program might not succeed if undocumented individuals would be afraid to reveal themselves to the Immigration and Naturalization Service [INS] and participate in the legalization program. I was also concerned that the employer sanctions provision would be unworkable. would be burdensome for employers. and could potentially result in discrimination against Hispanics and other "foreignlooking" individuals. In spite of my concerns.
Keywords matched
undocumented Immigration visa Naturalization