Mr. President. I will cast my vote against final passage of S. 358. the Immigration Act of 1989. I do not take this step lightly. The committee has worked diligently to put together a bill which addresses troublesome problems facing our immigration systemthe shortage of visa slots. the need to find skilled workers for certain jobs. the difficulties which some ethnic groups face in immigrating. and the long delays in processing pending applications. Still. I am not convinced that the bill represents a step forward in our immigration policy. In my view. a guiding principle of that policy of paramount importance should be family reunification. This bill. in the long run. will make it more difficult to bring together family members of naturalized U.S. citizens. By setting a cap on family preference visas and continuing. properly. to allow unlimited entry to children. spouses. and parents. we will be squeezing out brothers and sisters and adult children of naturalized citizens. Supporters of the bill sometimes make a distinction between brothers. sisters and adult children on the one hand and immediate family members on the other. In my mind there is absolutely no question that siblings and adult children are a part of the immediate family.
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