Speech #1090137415

We have close to 750.000 to 800.000800.000 in this legislation. but the diversity is only 42.000. No one could suggest that we havent been sensitive to understand the importance of people with high skills and what they can do in terms of our economy. but they are effectively wiping out this diversity program. Now. as you can see. the diversity visa is especially important when it comes to African immigration. Fewer than 4 percent of our family- and employmentbased immigrants come from Africa. but almost 40 percent of the di152. Pt. 7 9359 versity visas are used for Africans. And even though only 1 in 20 green cards is a diversity visa. 1 in 3 green cards issued to an African is authorized through the program. One sure effect of the Gregg amendment is that it would substantially reduce African migration to this country. There is just no other visa out there that would replace these flows. That is one reason the groups are opposed to the Gregg amendment. including the NAACP. the Coalition on Human Rights. the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform. the Illinois Coalition for Migrant and Refugee Rights. and a number of other groups. What does the Gregg amendment hope to accomplish in exchange for giving up this program? While the diversity visa program has unchecked symbolic importance and is an important mechanism to protect balance and equality in migration flows. it is tiny in comparison to the existing highskill program because the rules already favor the skilled immigrants. Three different classes of employmentbased visas are reserved for the skilled immigrants and five different temporary worker programs: the H1B. the L visas. the P visas. the 0 visas. the TN visas. These visas are already set aside for skilled workers. These are offices of various international companies that come in here. a variety of different kinds of visas. Some on the HlB are virtually effectively almost automatic to be able to go to a university site. to be able to teach. They are not counted within the HlB. So all but one of the programs already admit more immigrants than the Gregg amendment would generate through this change. Business groups oppose the Gregg amendment. I have letters from the Chamber of Commerce. the American Council on International Personnel. the National Association of Manufacturers. the Business Roundtableall major business associations which support highskilled immigration and all opposing the Gregg amendment. So here is what the Gregg amendment would do. It would change the diversity program from a tiny slice of the pie to a minuscule slice. These are the two. the diversity visas being at the top. It is now a small group. which is gray in this setting. and you can look over here and it is still gray. but it is a fraction of what it is in terms of the diversity flows. The flows are already onetwentieth. just onetwentieth of highskilled flows. and under the Gregg amendment. they would be cut to less than 2 percent. These charts actually understate what is going on by a wide margin because the underlying bill already roughly triples numerical limits on highskilled immigrants. Is the benefit to highskilled employers of an extra 37.000 visas really worth the price of eviscerating this successful program? Are we willing to give up so much to gain so little? Another reason to oppose the Gregg amendment is that for millions of people around the world. the diversity visa has come to symbolize the American dream. Eight million people applied for this. Eight million people look to the United States and say: Maybe I will have a chance.