That initiative was narrowly defeated. But things have changed and the amendment before us has changed. For one thing. we now have a record of deportation of family membersof spouses and children being taken away after we welcomed part of the family through amnesty. Second. these deportations have been at considerableand I believe needlessexpense to the taxpayer. These are families which will eventually qualify for immigrant visas. Yet. the Immigration Service pays the airfare home for most of these families. And considerable officer time is expended on each case. costing hundreds. if not thousands. of dollars. Finally. this is a different amendment than the one before us 2 years ago. It covers only spouses and childrennot the remainder of the familyand only those who were here before the amnesty program was enacted on November 6. 1986. In addition. unlike its predecessor. this amendment does not qualify the family members for the amnesty program. It merely stays their deportation. They are in legal limbo. And when their time comes. they must apply forand qualify foran immigrant visa. or face deportation. Mr. President. it is time we took the modest step the Senator from Rhode Island is proposing. and I urge my colleagues to support his amendment.
Keywords matched
immigrant Immigration visa deportations visas deportation