Speech #1030082701

Mr. President. a few years ago it would have been unlikely that the subject of immigration would have come up around the family dinner table. But today. along with such matters as the economy. health care. and crime. immigration has become one of the most serious domestic issues in the minds of the American public. perhaps because immigration has had such enormous impact in all other domestic issues. It does not matter where you go todayany townhall meeting. any gathering of high school students. at a college classimmigration is one of the topics that is raised very quickly. The issue of immigration is something that was not around just a few years ago with such intensity. I know that many of my colleagues in the Senate and the House have had the same experiences I have had. When I speak about immigration being a subject of concern. I am not talking about to this Senator. I think I can talk for the House and the Senate. Earlier this summer. the Republican leader. Senator DOLE. convened a policy breakfast for Republican Senators on the subject of immigration because. in his words. wherever he travels around the country. he is confronted with concern about the direction of the policy of immigration as it relates to the United States. It is clear that there is growing public dissatisfaction with our Natons immigration policies. The American people are demanding reforms that will restore order to an immigration system they perceive to be out of control. And these are not racist people who are raising this issue. Everybody in this countryof course. except for the native Americans--is of immigrant stock. My fatherinlaw was born in Russia. my grandmother in England. If we understand our own family backgrounds. we understand the immigrant struggle. The continual flow of new people into our country is one of its strengths. But why. Mr. President. are the American people concerned? Why are they concerned about the present state of immigration laws? Here is why: The most recent studies show that the net costs of legal and illegal immigration to all levels of Government will be $45 billion over the next decade. And this figure takes into account the taxes paid by these immigrants. According to the Attorney General. 26 percent of Federal prisoners are noncitizens. at a cost of $30.000 per inmate per year. When I first heard that figure. I thought there was a mistake. Mr. President--26 percent of the people that are In our Federal institutions are noncitizens. But the fact is. that figure was not something that I heard wrong the fact is that it is true. The amount that it costs us to Incarcerate. care for. and keep those people from the public is the same as for someone that is a citizen30.000 a year. In 1982. 128.000 immigrants received Social Security benefits. In 1992. 10 years later. the number has Jumped to over 600.000. Mr. President. that is an increase of almost 400 percent. In 1986. we granted amnestyand I voted against that provision in lawwe granted amnesty to 3.2 million illegal immigrants. After being in this country for 10 years. the average amnesty recipient had a sixthgrade education. earned less than $6 an hour. and presently qualifies for the earnedincome tax credit. Last year alone. the Immigration and Naturalization Service estimated 3.5 million Illegal border crossings occurred. Of course. INS apprehended only 1 million.