Mr. President. I want to mention the treatment of legal immigrants in this legislation. which I know is of great concern to our colleagues from California and Florida and New York and others. This bill. in my view. is a repudiation of the legacy of immigration that has defined our country for more than 200 years. We are talking about legal immigrants now. It is this influx of immigrants from diverse cultures and distant lands that has made this country a shining example to the entire world. That is why millions of people across the globe have come to our Nation. To say to legal immigrants who pay taxes. who get drafted and serve in our military that we are going to deny them basic protections after we have invited them to come here in a legal status because they do not vote and they are an easy target I think is a mistake. It was the promise of the American dream that brought my family to this country from Ireland. And it was the desire for a better life that brought millions of other immigrants to America. whether they came over on the Mayflower or if they came to our land in Just the past few days. The fact is. nearly every Senator in this body is a descendant of immigrants. The attack. in this legislation. on legal immigrants is meanspirited and punitive. This bill is more interested in reducing the deficit than maintaining our commitment to legal immigration. This bill bans legal immigrantschildren and the disabledfrom food stamps and SSI. When people lose SSI. they lose their health coverage under Medicaid. I fear that well see people who have paid taxes wheeled out of nursing homes as a result of this bill. The legal immigrant provisions of this bill will shift substantial costs on to local governments. In the words of Mayor Gulliani of New York: By restricting legal immigrants access to most Federal programs. immigration. in effect. becomes a local responsibility. Welfare reform should not diminish Federal responsibility for immigration policy or shift cost to local governments. But thats exactly what this bill does.
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