Speech #1030135509

And all may practice their private cultures. whatever they may be. as long as others are not injured. But the numbers have to be reasonable for the times in order that these new Americans may be successfully integrated. or people become sour and hardened against their entry. In 1990. we increased legal immigration to the United States to 700.000 personsan increase of nearly 40 percent. I was a cosponsor of that act which created the increase. I thought it was good. Since 1990. we have been admitting more than 120.000 refugees in every year. And I was part of the passage of the Refugee Act in 1980. In addition to these legal immigrants and refugees. illegal immigration contributes another 300.000 permanent immigrants annually. This burgeoning stream of legal immigrants. undocumented aliens. and refugees is as large an immigration flow as has ever been experienced in this country. It cannot continue. We can add to that flow thousands more who come here each year to claim. or to try to claim. political asylum. And often it is a phony claim. Immigration is 35 percent of our annual population growth. and our population growth rate is the highest of any developed Western nation. I have come to the conclusion that our current immigration exceeds the numbers of persons which the United States is capable of absorbing comfortably. So. today. I present this bill. When we increased the numbers in 1990. I did not foresee these things. did not anticipate Californias economic crisis. did not appreciate the fact that illegal immigration was again growing to unacceptable levels. And we see now that 1990 was not the time for a largescale expansion in legal immigration. and we should not hesitate to correct that miscalculation today. So the first order of business is to bring undocumented illegal immigration under control. Then we must determine a level of immigration which will be reasonable and which will clearly reflect our interest as a Nationthe national interest. So this measure I am introducing will. for a period of 5 years. reduce legal immigration to 500.000 legal immigrants annually. When we passed the Immigration Act of 1990. I believed we had successfully closed the back door to illegal immigration. We did not do that. We had enacted laws to prevent the employment of undocumented workers. Apprehensions of deportable aliens dropped for the third straight year. We thought we were on a good course. And we did not foresee the economic distress to our largest immigrantreceiving States: California. Florida. Illinoiscaused in part by the downsizing. at least in California. of the defense establishment. The level proposed in this legislation will take us back to the level of legal immigration prior to the 1990 act. This reduction will be in effect for 5 years. at which time it will automatically return to 675.000 immigrants annually. the permanent. worldwide level established by the 1990 act. During this 5year period. this breathing space. we can address the issue of illegal immigration. We can create more English language training programs for the immigrants who are already here. We can assist the halfmillion immigrants. plus refugees. who will be admitted every year to integrate successfully into the American society. And I would note here that while it has been our usual practice in the United States to allow immigration to grow. and to never adjust it downward no matter what the economic situation. the two other countries of high immigrationAustralia and Canadahave mechanisms to reduce immigration as well as to increase it. in order to best serve their national interests. Because of the worldwide economic recession. Australia. for example. now has reduced immigration by more than 50 percent over the last 3 years. During those same 3 years we were attempting to absorb a nearly 40 percent increase in our own immigration. It just does not make sense that we cannot or should not adjust our numbers when it is obviously in the national interest to do so. Although some immigrants and their advocates--I often refer to them as "groups" in a sinister waymay consider immigration to the United States as a right. we must always remember that immigration is a privilege. a privilege that should be granted only when it is in the national interest. This bill will also establish for the first time a firm cap on total immigration. excepting only the immigration of immediate relatives of American citizensthe nuclear familywhich shall remain unrestricted. Remember. there is no restriction on the parents. sons and daughters. and spouses of U.S. citizens. and the numbers for the minor sons and daughters and spouses of permanent resident aliens will not be reduced. But at this point I want to say that all immigrants who are in this country legally have come at the invitation or sponsorship of an American citizen. an employer. or a permanent resident. All of them have been approved by our immigration service. All are entitled to the respect and consideration we accord to every other American. A temporary reduction in the overall level of immigration does not mean there is an antiimmigrant sentiment in the Nation or in the Congress. It is not nativist. racist. or meanspirited to talk of controlling illegal immigration. or of reducing legal immigration. And it is not some response to antiimmigrant passions in the general public. In fact. a reduction in immigration should help this country to reduce any antiimmigrant feelings that do exist. This measure will also establish a limit on the number of refugees which the administration can admit without congressional action. Under the 1980 Refugee Act. the administration was to have consulted with the Congress before determining the number of refugees to admit in each year. This consultation process has not proven in any way to be a copartnership. it is a oneway street. The adminittrations under both parties have admitted refugees for many years at double or triple the 50.000 admissions which were established under the act as the "normal flow" of refugees. Most of the refugees now come directly from the country of their own nationality. Hear that. As a refugee. you are supposed to be fleeing persecution based on race. religion. national origin. political opinion. or membership in a particular group. Few are. in fact. fleeing any immediate persecution. They may be fleeing economic conditions. even discrimination. but that does not make one a refugee under the law. So the refugee program has really become. in essence. more of an immigration program than a refugee rescue program. This bill will establish a limit of 80.000 on the number of refugees which may be admitted without congressional action. That is a 60 percent increase over the "normal flow" set by the Refugee Act. But the ability of the administration to act in the event of a refugee emergency will not be restricted. Under the provisions of the Refugee Act. additional refugees may be admitted in the event of a genuine refugee emergency. That will continue. In addition to providing more congressional control over the admission of large numbers of refugees. this provision will limit the number of refugees accepted by the United States for the same reasons I have mentioned in discussing the proposed limits on immigrant admissions. This measure also addresses many of the problems we experience with criminal aliens. Last summer the American public saw on their television the spectacle of aged ships containing hundreds of illegal aliens running aground in New York harbor or sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge in order to discharge their pathetic human cargo at a dock in San Francisco. Americans were appalled at the loss of life. the terrible conditions on board the ships. and the inability of our Government to control this blatant abuse of our laws by alien smuggling organizations. This legislation will increase the penalties for alien smuggling. it will add alien smuggling to the list of crimes that establish the basis for bringing a RICOracketeeringcharge and will expand the seizure or forfeiture authority against those who smuggle or harbor illegal aliens. The legislation will also expedite the deportation procedures for criminal aliens who are not permanent resident aliens. greencard holders. The bill will permit a Federal judge to enter an order of deportation during the sentencing phase of a criminal trial. thus avoiding a second administrative hearing on the deportation. It will also limit the defenses to deportation for certain criminal aliens. And. to increase the effectiveness of deportation orders. the bill will increase the penalties for criminal aliens who fail to depart. or who reenter the country after the final order of deportation has been issued. These provisions are tough. and they are strong. and they are directbut fair. They will reduce the ability of criminal aliens to the advantage of a multilayered appeals process which has been plastered into the law over the decades. Aliens take advantage of that system in extraordinary ways. We now see in our asylum and deportation procedures that it is almost in total gridlock. And this will deter illegal alien smuggling by greatly increasing the cost of the criminal smuggler. The legislation also addresses a most serious immigration problem at our Nations international ports of entry. Taking advantage of the loopholes that exist in current law. large numbers of illegal aliens are entering the United States at our major ports of entry. claiming asylum. then disappearing into the interior of our country. In a single year approximately 40.000 aliens will seek illegal entry at our international airports. either with fraudulent documents or no documents. Because we have limited detention space. these aliens. and the smugglers who assist them. know that they will likely be released into the community at large--and with a work permit. too. if they can simply indicate a desire to apply for asylum. This measure will address this problem while at the same time preserving and protecting the rights of those aliens who present legitimate. goodfaith applications for asylum. Under this bill. any alien who uses a fraudulent document to enter the United States or who uses a document overseas. but then fails to present that document upon arrival in the United States. would be subject to an immediate order of exclusion. However. this bill would still protect those aliens who have legitimate claims to refugee status. but who attempt to enter the country without proper documents. The legislation would prevent the Immigration Service from immediately removing any alien who has a "credible fear of persecution" in the country to which he or she would be returned. The determination of a "crediblo fear of persecution" would be made by a specially trained asylum officer at the port of entry. A denial of an asylum claim would be reviewed by the asylum officers supervisor before the alien would be excluded. Mr. President. the rampant and widespread use of fraudulent and phony identification of all types in this country continues to appall U.S. citizens.