Speech #1040255605

Madam President. I have sought recognition to discuss briefly one of the aspects of the immigration conference report which will come before the Senate either today or shortly after we return from recess. I think that It is very important that we reform our laws to provide inc~eased. resources to protect our borde: :. and combat illegal immigration. Nevertheless. I have been very much concerned about a number of provisions of the immigration bill. The provision which concerns me the most is the socalled Gallegly amendment. which would give the States the option to limit education opportunities to children of illegal immigrants. In my opinion. it is unthinkable in America to deny education to any children. regardless of their status. whether their parents are illegal immigrants. That is something I feel particularly strongly about because both of my parents were immigrants. My mother came to this country as a child of 5 with her parents from a small town on the RussianPolish border. My father came from Ukraine Russia. literally walked across Europe with barely a ruble in his pocket. sailed steeragethe bottom of the boatto come to America to make a better life for himself. He did not know at the time he had a return trip ticket to France. not to Paris but to the Argonne Forest. where he fought in World War I as a buck private. to make the world safe for democracy. and carried shrapnel in his legs until the day he died. My parents had legal status as immigrants. but sometimes that is a hard thing to determine. I do not think any child ought to be deprived of educational opportunities because of the status of his parents. even if they are illegal immigrants. I have been strongly opposed to the Gallegly amendment. I have agreed to sign the conference report. however. because of a significant change which I have insisted upon. That change is that. in addition to some other modifications which have already been made for a child in the first grade to complete the sixth grade and a child in the seventh grade to complete the 12th grade. the modifications I pressed to have included. and I think have been included by agreement. would provide for a comprehensive study to be conducted by GAO. the General Accounting Office. at the end of 2 years. which would determine what impact the Gallegly amendment had on the children who were excluded from education. what impact it had with respect to juvenile delinquency. the crime rate. what impact it had on their educational status. what impact it had on their family status. and what impact it had on reducing illegal immigration. Following release of the study there will be a mandatory vote on repeal of the Gallegly provision in the Congress. both Houses. within a very short period of time. whatever the results of the GAO report may have been. If the Gallegly amendment was not repealed on that vote. then there will be a similar study after 5 years. and then another mandated automatic vote on the repeal of the Gallegly provision by the Congress.