California is home to more Asians and Hispanics than any other State in the country. No single issue nor piece of legislation has raised their concern as much as this legislation we are voting on today. Although the sponsors of this bill argue that this legislation will benefit those who rely on family preference visas to be reunited with their family members. the message I have received from these individuals is that they would prefer to see no reform legislation at all rather than see reforms which would include placing a new cap on family sponsored immigration. I. personally. think we should pay attention to this message. During yesterdays debate on the HatchDeConcini amendment. the Senator from Texas. Senator GRAMM. made a statement which rings very true with me. He said something to the effect that when it comes down to choosing between "numbers" and a "principle." we should stick with the principle. The principle of family reunification is very basic to our immigration laws. In my view. the fact that this legislation proposes to placefor the first timefamily sponsored immigration under a cap violates this principle. For these reasons I will vote "no." and I urge my colleagues to vote "no" also.
Keywords matched
family reunification immigration visas