Speech #1040203004

You will say. "I never dreamed that I would be voting on that issue with that person." So join the fun. You will find it to be so. Here we are trying to do something with illegal immigration. Let me tell you. we are going to do something with illegal immigration. I mean. we are really going to do something with illegal immigration. We will have these two amendments. and we will not be splitting or blending or pureeing anythingnothing. But we will be dealing with something that is not the concoction of the Senator from Wyoming but is the work product of the Jordan Commission on Immigration Reform. consisting of a remarkable group of Democrats and Republicans. So there we are with some figures which certainly concern all of us. who are trying to use honest numbers as we deal with a very complex issue. I think that does taint the previous debate. But during the 5year breathing .pace created by my amendment. visa applications will not be accepted for any priority category if fewer than 10.000 visas were provided for that category in the prior year. That provision is intended to avoid any further buildup in the backlog. There are more than 3.7 million persons on the family waiting list today. and 1.7 million are in the brother and sister category alone. Now. those long waiting lists. those backlogs. in some cases. arrive and result in a wait of over 20 years for a visa. It is believed by some experts to encourage illegal immigration. Why would it not? Because a person on the waiting list that is told they are going to have to wait 12. 14. 16 years is going to come here illegally.