Speech #1030124724

We do not have the resources to eliminate poverty and unemployment for our own population. much lessmuch less--the population of the rest of the world. Yet the current lax U.S. asylum procedures allow anyone to gain entry to the United States and become immediately eligible to work here and eligible to benefits that costs the American taxpayers money. All one needs to do is to show up at a U.S. portofentry. request asylum. and relate some vague story of persecution to the Immigration and Naturalization Service agent. The individual then receives the muchcoveted work authorization documents and is asked to show up later for a hearing on the asylum claim. Many do not show up later. The system has become so backlogged that the hearing will most likely be more than a year later. And. as I said. not surprisingly. fewer than half of the asylum seekers ever appear for their hearing. The current backlog stands at 355.000 cases with 15.000 of those claims coming since November 10. 1993. the last time this amendment was before the Senate. But as I have said. I am concerned with more than just the asylum procedures. All aspects of U.S. immigration law must be reviewed. The American people want them to be reviewed. For two centuries America has graciously accepted immigrants. Many immigrant groups have played important roles in the history of this great Nation. Nobody doubts that. We are all. most of us are. descendants of immigrants. I am. I am the ninthgeneration descendant of an immigrant from England and immigrants from Scotland. We are all immigrants. except those American Indians. and some of us have a little bit of that in our blood. For two centuries. we have accepted immigrants. They have added to our way of life. Their talents. their strengths. their skills. have contributed to America.