Speech #1040203013

The amendment is a simple. straight spillover. giving preference to permanent residents over U.S. citizens families. The problem with the AbrahamKennedy provision. which is currently In the bill. is that there is no cap on the numbers. With an anticipated 2.5 million MCA legalized aliens expected to naturalize in the next 5 years. the unlimited family numbers would result in a family immigration total of 1 million a year. Recognize. 500.000 of these people are going to go to California a year. We do not have enough room in our schools. We have elementary schools with 2.500. 3.000 students in them. in critical areas where these legal immigrants go. There is no available housing. There is a shortage of Jobs. So why would we do this. if the numbers are swollen 41 percent over what we were told when we considered this bill in committee? The KennedyAbraham amendment also has a spillover provision from unused employmentbased Immigration visas. The current limit is 140.000. The actual use in 1995 was only 85.000. which means in addition to the increasing numbers in family immigration. there would be an additional 55.000 visas totaling up to 1 million in family immigration in 1996. Third. the KennedyAbraham amendment Increase chain migration by guaranteeing 50.000 visas for siblings of citizens in the next 5 years. which increases to 75.000 per year for the subsequent 5 years. INS Commissioner Doris Meissner has confirmed that the chain migration comes from the siblings category. Under KennedyAbraham. the bill would allocate 50.000 to 75.000 for siblings. more numbers in certain years than current law which allows 65.000 per year. I believe that the Feinstein amendment is a reasoned balance between Simpson and the AbrahamKennedy provision. It places a hard cap on the current level of 480.000 family total per year. It closes the loophole where the unused employmentbased visas spills over to the family immigration numbers. Third. it guarantees that close family members of citizens get visas each year with flexible limits. allowing Increases in allocation of visas with decreases in the immediate family categories. which INS anticipates will flatten out in about 5 years. The Feinstein amendment is about fair allocation of scarce visa numbers to protect reunification of close family members of citizens. while controlling the daunting increases in family immigration due to the increase in naturalization rates for the next 5 years. Every member. Mr.