Speech #1040148315

Yes. the issue of "numbers" is an essential element of the problem and the people will not let us forget that. Yes. I know full well that the numbers represent human beings--human facesand that to reduce immigration because it is in the interest of the entire Nation. nevertheless has its cost. And this cost may. indeed. involve many fine individuals in many places outside of this country giving up their dreams of a lifetime. This is not easy for us. and that is why we must keep focused always on the ultimate issue of what will promote the longterm best interests of the American peoplethose of us here. It is time to slow down. to reassess. to make certain that we are assimilating well the extraordinary level of immigration the country has been experiencing in recent years. Yes. I say "assimilating." Barbara Jordan uses that term. too. That should not be a "politically incorrect" term. Terms like "assimilation" and "Americanization" should not be "politically incorrect." Mr. President. my bill also proposes major reform of the criteria for selecting immigrants. including both familysponsored and employmentbased immigrants. The bill would reserve familysponsored immigration for those most likely actually to be living with the relatives in the United States with whom they are in theory being "reunited." Mr. President. in 1965 the United States adopted an immigration law that was primarily oriented toward family reunification. With some modifications. this emphasis has continued ever since. The policy has not been limited to reunification of the closest family members. those most likely to actually live together in the United States. that is. spouses and unmarried minor children: what is called the "nuclear family"the family unit the American people believe is most conducive to the raising of healthy. productive. and happy children. No. the current policy has also given preference to adult or married children. parents. and brothers and sisters. who are much less likely to live with the U.S. relative who has petitioned for them. Last year. family immigrants outside of the nuclear family totaled more than 150.000. This policy of admitting immigrants who are relatives of citizens and immigrants but outside of their nuclear families is serving primarily the interests of the immigrants themselves and those of their relatives in the United States. Because the American people want immigration reduced. and because eliminating the preferences for nonnuclear family would not greatly offend the family values of the American people. this is an area where significant change should be made. Accordingly. the bill would narrow the presently numerically unlimited category of "immediate relatives" of U.S. citizens to include only: spouses and unmarried minor children. plus parents 65 or older. if the greatest number of their sons and daughters reside in the United States. It would also reserve numerically limited family immigration for spouses and unmarried minor children of lawful permanent resident aliens--"green card" holdersat an annual ceiling of 85.000. still above the current level of new petitions coming in on behalf of such immigrants. The Commission on Immigration Reform also recommends this elimination of most family classifications not related to the nuclear family. In addition. "special immigrant" status would be provided for severely disabled adult sons and daughters of citizens or permanent residents. which is again consistent with the recommendations of the Commission on Immigration Reform. This provision would require a showing of being able to provide adequate medical and longterm care insurance for any such dependent immigrants. The bill would also provide for a very generous program to reduce the current backlog of spouses and unmarried minor children of permanent residentsnow 1.1 million. The bill would authorize 150.000 additional visa numbers per year until all who are now "on the waiting list" have been reached. This too was recommended by the Commission. Mr. President. I want to remind my colleagues of a final point on family immigration. Neither the Government of these United States. nor the American people are responsible in any way for "breaking up" extended families abroad. Please hear that. No. immigrants who have come here consciously chose to do so and. by doing so. they personally chose to leave most of their family behindto "break up" their family. No one else is responsible. The American people will continue to generously favor allowing individual citizens and permanent residents to "sponsor" members of their immediate familytheir spouse or unmarried minor children. even those disabled sons and daughters and elderly parents who they want to have live with them. But it is not in the best interests of the American people to continue to allow the immigration of the entire "rest of the family" they made a conscious choice to leave behind. and then witness the spawning of the chain migration of the inlaws. and inlaws of inlaws. to which this clearly leads. Mr. President. the bills proposed changes in the employmentrelated classifications are intended to protect the wages and job opportunities of our U.S. workers. especially those who are first entering upon their careers. and to preserve longterm incentives for Americans to acquire needed skills and education. and for employers to continually encourage them to do so.