Speech #1040206036

Mr. President. I want to thank the chairman and ranking member of the Immigration SubcommitteeSenators SIMPSON and KENNEDYfor their dedication and commitment to the issue of Illegal immigration. They have steered the Senate through a difficult process. and we are all appreciative of their efforts this time. as we have been on numerous occasions past. I will vote against final passage of this bill. The bill contains much that I support. I am gratified that the Senate has voted to retain the verification pilot programs that were adopted as a compromise in committee. These pilot programs are essential to combating the job magnet that lures illegal immigrants to the United States. and will also make immigrationrelated job discrimination less likely. I am also gratified that the Senate passed the Leahy asylum amendment yesterday. This amendment. by preserving our Nations commitment to providing safe haven for victims of persecution abroad. was a substantial improvement in this legislation. and one that corrected one of the major problems with this legislation as it came out of the Judiciary Committee. Finally. unlike the House immigration bill. the Senate bill does not contain any provision allowing States to deny undocumented alien children primary or secondary education. Adoption of such an amendment would have been an imprudent response to the problem of illegal Immigration. and would have cost the Nation far more than it would have saved it. Despite the virtues of this legislation. I am compelled to vote against it because it still suffers from some serious problemsin particular. the provisions of the bill that serve to deny legal immigrants Government assistance. While I support the idea of tightening current deeming requirements. the bill will deny legal immigrants assistance that will prevent. not encourage. legal immigrants from receiving welfare. such as higher education and job training assistance. The bill makes a sieve out of the safety net that is essential for the most vulnerable of our societychildren. pregnant women. and the disabled. Finally. this bill retroactively expands deeming requirements for those immigrants who are In the country today. without the benefit of a legally binding affidavit of support. There is no question that sponsors should be primarily liable for the wellbeing of the immigrants they bring In. At the same time. this bill lacks the flexibility that is necessary if we are to ensure a balanced and fair approach to the issue of immigrants and public assistance. I am concerned about much of the rhetoric about immigrants and public assistance that has accompanied this debate. While we have heard much about the pressures immigrants place on our system of public assistance. the fact is that the overwhelming majority of immigrants--over 93 percentdo not receive welfare. and that workingage nonrefugee immigrants use Government assistance at the same levels as nativeborn Americans. While specific programsin particular. SSIreceive disproportionate use by immigrants. we should address such problems specifically. without cutting off access to resources that will help immigrants avoid the welfare dependency that concerns us all. Having set out my objections to the bill. I hope that I will be able to support a conference agreement on illegal immigration. The House immigration bill has several provisions in the public assistance area preferable to the Senate billin particular. the exemption from deeming for higher education. and the limitation on programs that can give rise to deportation as a public charge. Adoption of these provisions in the conference will substantially improve this legislation. On the other hand. any illegal immigration conference agreement should not include any provision allowing States to deny primary or secondary educational assistance to undocumented aliens. Such a provision. while not in the Senate bill. is in the House bill. Inclusion of such a provision in the conference agreement would cause many of those who support the Senate bill to oppose the conference report. We are close to having an illegal immigration bill we can all be proud of. but we are not there yet.