Speech #1010216571

Mr. Chairman. I rise in strong support of this bill. particularly the provisions that have to do with the country of Lebanon and the immigrants from Lebanon to this country. Mr. Chairman. it is a very difficult task to produce a bill which is fair. compassionate. and good for the economy. I believe H.R. 4300 meets these objectives. Over the years. immigrants have been the lifeblood of this country. both economically and spiritually. I believe we have an obligation to share this experiment in freedom with other people in the world who are oppressed. We cannot shut the doors to themdiversity is good for this country. At the same time. we cannot simply throw the doors open and see what happens. We must control the flow of immigrants into this country so they can become productive members of American society. I want to especially bring the attention of my colleagues an amendment I offered in the Judiciary Committee to provide some relief to the unfortunate citizens of Lebanon. who have lived trapped and under siege for over a decade. While the media seems to have lost interest in Lebanon. the country is politically very unstable and living conditions are impossible. Since February. over 1.000 people have been killed and 3.500 wounded. mostly in shelling of urban areas. Over half of the population are refugees in their own country. displaced by the war. Public water and electricity are almost nonexistent. Efforts to resolve the war have failed and there is no way of predicting whether allout fighting will break out again tomorrow. I venture to say I cannot imagine where else in the world conditions are as bad. I became involved in this crisis when a family member of a constituent was killed while awaiting approval of his application for a visa to come to the United States. There is something wrong when the immigration process puts people whose lives are in jeopardy on a daily basis on a list 8 years long. Fifth preference visa applicants who applied in 1982 are just now getting approval. If you were Lebanese and applied tomorrow for a fifth preference visa. the wait would be 25 years. The Lebanese do not have the luxury of waiting for their turn under the present system. My amendments may save some innocent lives. My amendment addresses the desperate need of Lebanese trapped in random violence to get out of the country to join family in the United States. It is a curious thing that these people do not qualify as refugees because they are threatened by general anarchy and violence. rather than specific persecution. The amendment attempts to address the backlog of second and fifth preference visa applicants by adding 5.000 new visas in years 1991 through 1995. or 1.000 new immigrant visas each year for 5 years. I want to make it very clear that these are additional visas to those provided in the bill. and that citizens of Lebanon are eligible on an equal footing for the other visas made available under the backlog reduction provisions of the bill. These additional visas should not in any way reduce their chances of obtaining a visa under other sections of H.R. 4300. I understand concerns about special treatment for citizens of one country. but I fear that if we make them wait their turn in line. they may not be alive when their names are called. I believe this is a humanitarian gesture and the most fair way to do it I also want to thank and commend the chairman of the Rules Committee. Mr. MOAKLEY. for his amendment to grant temporary protected status to citizens of Lebanon. El Salvador. Kuwait. and Liberia who are presently to return Nicaraguans with justifiable fear of being sent home to face political persecution and even death.