Speech #1010099268

Mr. Speaker. what this would do is to codify and expand existing Department of Justice policy to require asylum and refugee adjudicators to give the same consideration to Chincse fleeing Chinas population control measures. that is. forced abortions and sterilization. as is given to those fleeing religious and other types of political persecution. Although the Attorney General has issued policy guidelines requiring careful consideration for those fleeing Chinas brutal population control measures. the INS has failed to properly implement those guidelines. As recently as May 12. the Board of Immigration Appeals said it was not bound by the Department of Justice guidelines and decided to deport a Peoples Republic of China national who had fled China and its population control policies and requested asylum in the United States. I do not think. Mr. Speaker. that this should be a controversial issue. In the other body. they passed it in July by 95 to zero on a recorded vote. We have checked with the administration. both with the Congressional Affairs Office and the Immigration and Naturalization Service and also with the Department of Justice. and they are not opposed to it. The question may arise as to whether or not this is germane to the bill that we are instructing on. I think certainly it is germane to that particular bill. H.R. 2712 addresses Chinese students who are seeking waivers to their Jvisa for fear of political persecution should they return to China. The Population Control Refugee Amendment addresses those Chinese who might face political persecution because of their family size. and many of those affected are students seeking waivers of their Jvisas. The two measures are complimentary and overlapping. Again. the questioi. may arise as to whether or not this is an antiabortion amendment. I think it is the ultimate prochoice amendment. in fact. because it is in the most fundamental support. in the most fundamental sense it is supported by people on both sides of that issue. Rather than an abortion amendment. it Is really an antisterilization amendment. a procivil rights amendment and an antipersecution amendment. Will the amendment open the floodgates to Chinese refugees pouring into the country? No. it will not. It does nothing to change the number of slots allocated to refugees coming into the country. This level is set by the President in consultation with Congress each year. and this will not change that. To make sure that this is not the case. we have put a cap of 1.000 on this. not that we think there will be 1.000.