Speech #1010044731

I believe. the kind of bill which the House ought to pass today. I say that from the standpoint of certainly being very unsatisfied with the terrible backlogs which have been built up in Europe and certainly from the standpoint of having every kind of sympathy for the people who are involved here. The establishment of a presumption that certain people coming from certain areas and certain lands are automatically refugees is. I think. really a step backward. It returns. as the Members of the House know. our position to pre1980. before the 1980 Refugee Act was passed. The reason we passed the 1980 act was to get away from nations specific determinations of who was or was not a refugee. Madam Chairman. earlier the speaker today said that this was a very political act on the part of the administration. Well. unfortunately passage of this bill today does repoliticlze the whole situation of who is or who is not a refugee. so essentially. Madam Chairman. I think the bill. despite its good impulse and laudable goals. sets a very bad precedent. I think it encourages and almost invites other groups similarly situated to apply for this kind of presumption. I think it avoids our addressing the very vexing problems of immigration. Madam Chairman. my judgment is that many of the people now leaving the Eastern bloc are refugees. are immigrants and not refugees. and our immigration laws will be required to be tailored to meet that need. I think we should relieve the backlogs in every form with parole. additional money. deploying additional agents so every refugee is immediately cleared. but I do not think. despite the again laudable goal. that this is the way to go. Madam Chairman. I would urge my colleagues to oppose the bill.