Meek. RosLehtlinen amendment to H.R. 1469. the emergency supplemental appropriation bill. I speak on behalf of the 14.380 legal immigrants who in 1995 listed Houston. TX as their intended area o1 residence. It Is estimated that 0I percent of the 18.724.000 residents of the State of Texas are foreign born according to the League of Women Voters repor "Immigration an American Paradox." This is a nation of diverse people that has a long tradition of expanding the roles of our nations citizens through a formal adoption program called Legal Immigration. The actions of the last Congress in passing immigration reform which treated legal and illegal immigrants with out delineating between the two groups was wrong. Legal immigrants to our Nation should be encouraged and fully recognized with the full protection of our Nations laws. In March. approximately 800.000 legal residents of the United States received letters from the Social Security Administration iiformIng that they may lose their benefits in August unless thay quality for exemption or achieve U.S. citizenship. Age. infirmity. and mental and physical condition were not taken into account when immigration reform was passed by this body and signed into law. This amendment would allow us to do the right thing and provide for those who are abiding by our Nations laws by becoming legal residents of our country. The amendment It adopted would postpone until the end of fiscal year 1997 the scheduled cutoff in Supplemental Security Income [SSI] payments to illegal immigrants. These benefits go to needy persons who are over 64. blind. or disabled. The amendment would rescind $240 million from the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) program to offset the amendments cost.
Keywords matched
Immigration immigration foreign born illegal immigrants immigrants