Speech #1010042615

Kennedy. Mr. Johnson stated that we should be less concerned with setting immigration policy based on what country you come from. and ask instead. "What can you do for your country?" Mr. President. I agree with that statement. That is the reason this amendment is pending. We must develop an immigration policy that is in the best interest of America. America as a whole. not a policy based primarily on the desire of some citizens to be reunited with distant relatives or relatives by marriage. The pending HelmsShelby amendment is developed to help America. to help us reunit American families with their closest relatives and to help American businesses meet future labor shortage. That is what this amendment is all about. The current immigration system is based primarily on family reunification. More than 90 percent of visas go to relatives of immigrants. Many of these visas. however. are for distant relativesbrothers in law. nieces. nephews. and so on. Obviously. this causes a tremendous chain migration problem. In fact. the backlog for these visas. called fifth preference visas. is so large that many relatives wiat in line for more than 20 years to get one. As one columnist recently stated. we should not confuse family reunification with family reunions. Both the Senator form Massachusetts and the Senator from Wyoming have criticized the definition of the fifth preference. In additional views to the committee bill. Senator SIMPSON said: The fifth preference should be deemphasized so that we may give priority to closer family members. skilled workers and other immigrants that our labor market needs. I deeply regret that the committee bill does not recognize this principle. The Senator from Massachusetts has criticized the system for creating an illusory and false hope of family reunification. That is because relatives of some citizens wait in line for up to 20 years to enter the country. This is unfair and unwise. That is why the 1988 KennedySimpson immigration bill contained a limited definition of the fifth preference. just like the pending HelmsShelby amendment. A limited definition will help reunite American families. The Senate is on record 3 times. in 1982. 1983. and 1988. as favoring a limited definition or complete elimination of this fifth preference. Mr. President. the pending HelmsShelby amendment addresses the needs of America in a second way. It increases the availability of skillbased business visas. That is to say. people who can contribute to the productivity of America. America needs a policy that encourages skilled workers and people with exceptional abilities to come to our country. Unfortunately. our current system discourages them from immigrating beacuse there is a 1- to 3year wait for skillsbased. businessrelated visas under the third or sixth preference. As a result. American companies have difficulty recruiting highly skilled workers who have crucial knowledge of international markets and pioneer research.