Speech #1010216632

The support from the family has been crucial in the adjustment and success of new Americans throughout the history of our Nation. Is it inconsistent with our countrys principles and ideals to promote or enforce so prolonged a separation of spouses from each other and from their families? We must remedy the heartless deportation of infants. and eliminate the tremendous backlog of families waiting to be reunited. Opponents of this bill would argue that by increasing employerbased immigration. we would encourage new immigrants to take jobs away from American workers. But. a 1989 Department of Labor study shows that immigrants actually increase both aggregate employment and the wages and mobility opportunities for many groups of U.S. workers. These studies show that immigrants contribute to our economy and are easily absorbed by our labor market. I am aware of the concern that an Increased number of immigrants would drive down American wages. that they would strain the Nations natural resources and infrastructure. and that they would abuse our welfare system. However. the Department of Labor has shown that immigrants do not take jobs. instead they create jobs through consumption. and through entrepreneurship. Studies show that periods of heavy immigration have been followed by rates of low unemployment and high economic growth. Another myth to dispel is that immigrants drain Federal public assistance programs. But the rate of those foreignborn collecting unemployment compensation. food stamps. and other programs is lower than those native born. Tax and welfare data together indicate that. on balance. immigrants contribute to public coffers an average of $1.300 or more per year. Thus. most immigrants pay more in taxes during their lifetime than they receive in Government benefits. Mr. Chairman. Immigrants entering the United States under H.R. 4300 employerbased provisions would be welleducated and highly skilled individuals. earning an estimated average salary of $30.000 a year. Why. in this time of our increasing dependence on the global market. are we depriving ourselves of valuable labor resources? I hope my colleagues would agree that based upon these statistics. immigrants are valuable assets. and not liabilities. to our Nation. Mr. Chairman. the last significant immigrantion reform was the passage by Congress of the Immigration Act of 1965. This system clearly no longer adequately serves America today in either meeting our economic or social policy objectives. The time has arrived for us to scrutinize our laws and ask ourselves if our Nations policies are consistent with our Nations values. H.R. 4300 is urgently needed to reaffirm and sustain our countrys commitment to family reunification. long the cornerstone of U.S. legal immigration policy. I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in reforming our immigration policy to reflect the profamily. progrowth attitude that has been the backbone of our Nation.