Speech #1050000432

Mr. Speaker. a reduction In immigration is essential to improving the countrys economy and social weaknesses. With this In mind. I am today Introducing legislation to cut the number of legal immigrants who enter our country each year. Once again. I am sponsoring the Immigration Moratorium Act. The legislation provides for a significant. but temporary. reduction in legal immigration levels. Under my bill. Immlgration would be limited to the spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens. a reduced number of refugees and employmentbased immigrants. and a limited number of immigrants who are currently waiting in the immigration backlog. Total immigration under my proposed moratorium would be less than 300.000 per year. The moratorium would end after approximately 5 years. provided no adverse impact would result from an immigration increase. A temporary moratorium is a sound response to our present situation that allows for unprecedented and unmanageable levels of immigrants. Currently. the United States admits about 1 million legal immigrants annually. more than any other industrialized nation in the world. Based upon recent trends. this number will continue to climb unless we take the necessary steps to restore Immigration to reasonable levels. I am extremely troubled by the fact that study after study has shown that the excessive immigration we are experiencing exacerbates many of the countrys most disturbing problems. such as overcrowded jails. inadequately funded schools and hospitals. violent crime and unemployment. Moreover. legal immigration is costly and has a significant impact on our ability to balance the budget. For example. the projected net cost to taxpayers of legal immigration will be $330 billion over the next 10 years. Mr. speaker. Americans have repeatedly voiced their concerns about the potentially grave consequences associated with unrestrained Immigration. A recent Wall Street Joumal/NBC News poll showed 52 percent support a 5year moratorium on legal Immigration. A Roper poll shows the majority of Amedcans prefer no more than 100.000 annually. A host of additional polls consistently show a similar sentiment. We would be negligent in our roles as Federal legislators to Ignore such compelling public demand for change. Last Congress. we enacted legislaton that addressed some of the countrys most pressing illegal Immigration problems. Unfortunately. an attempt to Improve our legal immigration policies was thwarted. The 105th Congress should not repeat last years mistake. We should. Instead. finish the immigration reform job by evaluating Americas Immigration needs and devising a policy that will allow us to meet these needs without further burdening American taxpayers.