Mr. President. I rise today to express concern about a provision in the 1990 immigration legislation. giving the Secretary of State expanded authority to prohibit aliens from entering the United States. Three years ago. the Congress enacted legislation to prohibit the exclusion of aliens on the basis of their "beliefs. statements. or associations which. if engaged in by a United States citizen in the United States. would be protected under the Constitution * . 0" This carefully crafted proposal took into consideration the concerns of the administration as well as those of us in Congress. Indeed. this February. after a 3year trial period. this proposal was made into permanent law by the Congress as part of the State Department authorization bill. Yet despite the strong consensus behind this approach. the Immigratidn legislation now before the Congress significantly changes this law. It expands considerably the discretion of the Secretary of State to exclude aliens if the "aliens admission would compromise a compelling United States foreign policy interest." Mr. President.
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