Speech #1010042718

There are probably as many people in Congress today who want to narrow the legalization program as there are those who would broaden it. As we grapple and anguish over the legalization issue. we did at least conclusively decide it. and this opens it up again. A cruel irony of this amendmentand I said it and will say it one more time. knowing how this place operatesis that it would treat the illegal Immigrants more generously than we treat our current legal immigrants because under the present system. a new permanent resident alien who does not enter with his immediate members of his family might apply through the preference system for his family to immigrate. In such cases. there is a wait of 16 months for nationals in most countries and a longer wait in countries with higher visa demands. For those legal immigrants. there is no withholding of deportation if their family are present illegally. There are many Mexican nationals who return to Mexico from the United States to pick up their visas when they are issuednow hear thatthus proving they have been living in the United States without status and without protection from deportation. When their visa number comes up in Mexico City. 85 percent of them go down from the United States to pick it up. Do you think they have any fear of deportation? Of course not. We have deported a handful of people. literally a handful. Maybe 12. maybe 5. Not more than 100 under any scenario have we ever deported. In fact. we do not even deport poeple for heinous activity because we are a very generous country. As the newly legalized aliens receive their permanent resident status. they may apply for admission in the same manner as the legal resident aliens now do. I cannot tell you how many Americans objected during the original bill because It seemed to reward lawbreakers while penalizing those who were waiting patiently in line to immigrate legally. I opposed those arguments. and I fought for legalization. I believe this amendment so plainly reopens all those old wounds so that the public is unlikely to see it in any other light. Without public support of the United States. any immigration policy is doomed. I fear we are undercutting exactly this support by adopting this amendment and giving a special treatment to people who are illegal aliens and whose family members were originally illegal aliens. There is one other thing I hope people will hear in this process. this breaking up of families and deferring applicants. There have been these claims continually of the terms of the legalization program that we are breaking up families. I think there is another very valid perspective to that issue. Let me remind my colleagues that it was the illegal alien families who chose to divide themselves. They chose to split up their families in this other country. If they had all come to the United States together. they would have been covered under the amnesty. They would have qualified for the legalization program together. They themselves chose to divide their families. not because of refugee status. but because of economic reasons. or others. They chose to do that. I think they then must wait. just as under our legal immigration system. allowing them to enter legally. We heard allegations that the lack of a second family amnesty in the last debate was deterring applicants for the legalization program. I know my friend from Rhode Island will remember that.