Speech #1000149001

Mr. President. today I am joining Senator SIMON. Senator CRANSTON. and Senator MoyNIHAN in introducing legislation to extend the application period for the immigration legalization program for an additional 12 months. The application deadline set by statute is May 4. 1988. but all Indications are that the program may well need some additional time for those eligible to apply. I propose this extension because I believe the program has been a success to date. Immigration officers in the field have exhibited extraordinary dedication to this program. along with the hard.working staff of churches and community groups around the country. And this dedication has over. come many of the monumental obstacles faced in getting the program underway. The result is that. to date. some 1.2 million persons have applied for legalization. But reports I have received suggest that there are still hurdles aheadthat there are still pockets of eligible illegal aliens who have not yet come forward for the amnesty. I believe even more can be done with this population with more time. Public education and information has been slow. Word of the programs achievementsthat Illegal aliens can apply without fear of deportationhas not yet adequately reached undocumented alien communities. And the Immigration Service has made some commendable midcourse adjustments in the regulations governing the program which need time to take full effect. Like many others. I personally have tried to contribute to the public education campaign by taping public service announcements for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. But now. fully 6 weeks after the taping. the Immigration Service has only now prepared these announcements for airing. I am confident that this situation will be corrected soon. but nonetheless It illustrates the fact that public education of this magnitude is tedious and slow. The Immigration Reform and Control Act envisioned a 6month period of public education before the legalization program began. However. the first advertising for the amnesty followed. rather than preceded. the start of the amnesty. Mr. President. some of the blame for the slow start on public education lies with Congress. The immigration reform law was enacted in November 1986. after we had already wrapped up appropriations for the 1987 fiscal year. And we did not pass a supplemental appropriations bill until July 11well after the legalization program had already begun. On this point.