Many were targeted by death squads and faced persecution at the hands of rogue militias. They came to America to seek safety and freedom for themselves and their children. The Reagan administration. the Bush administration. and the Clinton administration assured them that they could apply to remain permanently in the United States under our immigration laws. They were promised that if they have lived here for at least 7 years and are of good moral character. and if a return to Central America would be an unusual hardship. they would be allowed to remain. They have to meet those particular requirements and if they dont meet those requirements. then they are unable to remain in the United States. Last years immigration law violated that commitment. President Clinton has promised to find a fair and reasonable solution for these families. and the administration will use its authority to help as many of them as possible. But Congress must do its part by enacting this corrective legislation. Earlier in the course of todays debate. our colleague from Texas. Senator GRAMM. talked at some length about this particular amendment and about the situation in which these refugees find themselves. I would like to just clarify and respond to some of the comments that were made earlier in the day. The first comment was this legislation reverses our immigration laws enacted just last year. The answer is the law was changed on these families retroactively. we took steps. gave guarantees. and then took action. These families had very little to do with it. and now the law was changed.
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refugees immigration