Speech #1100057086

I emphasized last year that people in a temporary worker program should not come for 3 years. as last years bill did. with their family. and be able to extend again and again and then be expected to leave the country sometime in the future. So this bill was better in that regard. but it still allowed families to come with the person 20 percentand others to come and visit. creating all kinds of possibilities for overstays in that regard. That is why the Congressional Budget Office projected a very large increase in visa overstays as a result of the way this bill was written in that regard. I was very intrigued and excited that my suggestion last yearthat we model our legislation on the Canadian systemwas being considered. The administration said they liked this meritbased system. They liked the point system. They thought we ought to go more in that direction. Canada admits 60 percent of its people through immigration under a competitive. skillbased system because the Canadians have learned and have proven. if you talk to them. as I have. that persons who come in with any college. with a skill. and with a good work historyand if they speak English or French. they give extra points for thatvery seldom go on welfare. very seldom take benefits from the government. and become properly productive citizens who pay taxes and become good citizens for Canada. We have. at this time. only a mere 13 percent of our people coming in on the basis of their skills. Today. the overwhelming majority come in based on chain migration and family connections. I thought we were going to make a real move toward the Canadian system with this bill. 1 know Senator KYL worked his heart out to try to do that. but when the final compromise was reached. he couldnt get a better deal than this. that this merit system would really not take effect for 8 years. and during the interim period. there would be a surge of chain migration numbers for 8 years. perhaps triple the current rate. To me. that was a political compromise too great. That is something I couldnt support.