I believe we went back even longer than thatI think it was 15 yearsto try and detect what might be a reasonable expectation of the growth rate. and we not only built that in but built in a very substantial increase over that. I think we effectively doubled that rate. which will be eligible to others than immediate relatives. As a political matter. it is unrealistic to think that we would have gotten that increase unless we developed the formulation that we did in establishing a national level of immigration. That happens to be the reality. We can spend the time of the Senate here to say why that is the case. and I think my colleague from Wyoming would agree with that. because there are a number of policy matters and implications involved. So I respect certainly the concerns which have been expressed by the Senator from Utah and I know the concerns of the Senator from Arizona. I hope that the membership would feel that under the leadership of Senator SIMPSON and my working with him. both as the chairman of the subcommittee as well as when he was chairman. we have been an active committee. we have been sensitive. we have brought these matters to the Senate in an unprecedented way for discussion and debate. As we mentioned. there have only been four general immigration bills in the history of this country. but we have seen. both with the 1986 act and with this legislation. a willingness to respond to the various concerns which this institution has. and we like to believe that as a result of these debates we have a better informed Senate. a better informed country on the immigration policy generally and we are having a more positive impact on the issue in this way. So. while I respect the concern over the ceiling. but once we start building in these limitations we lose the basic concept of a total national level of immigration. We do believe that we have placed in here sufficient numbers. based upon a 15year record. to accommodate any growth in immediate relatives. I understand the concern that we have in terms of the family preferences.
Keywords matched
immigration