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“PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2202, IMMIGRATION IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST ACT OF 1995” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E394-E395 on March 20, 1996.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2202, IMMIGRATION IN THE NATIONAL
INTEREST ACT OF 1995
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speech of
HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE
of Texas
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, March 19, 1996
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am in opposition to the rule for H.R. 2202, the Immigration in the National Interest Act of 1995. If passed, this bill will dramatically change the way that we deal with immigration in this country. I am concerned, therefore, because a number of very important amendments, specifically those relating to the bill's legal immigration provisions have been excluded from consideration.
H.R. 2202 attempts to do too much too fast. By combining the enforcement of illegal immigration and the reform of legal immigration in one bill, I fear that we are sending the wrong message to the American public. While I, like most Americans, believe that we must stem the tide of illegal immigration to this country, legal immigration serves important national interests.
Given the legal and administrative complexities of the reform challenge at hand, we must examine each component to the fullest extent. I am hopeful, therefore, that my colleagues will support the Crane-Dooley-Davis amendment, which would strike the parts of title V
(subtitles A, B, and C) that would virtually prevent American citizens from sponsoring their adult children, siblings, and parents; reduce America's support for refugees; and place additional experience requirements that will complicate companies' ability to hire foreign scientists and engineers.
The current legal immigration system is specifically designed to strengthen families by reuniting close family members and fueling prosperity by attracting hardworking individuals. We must not abandon these principles. At a time when strong family bonds are more important than ever, restrictions, in family based immigration will hurt legal immigrant families in America.
It is disturbing to think that Government policy will keep such families, even parents and their children, apart just because a child is older than 21 years of age. Energetic young people, about to enter the work force, are exactly the type of new Americans that compliment the existing work force. Not only will they fuel our economy along with our existing population, but they will be here to care for their aging parents. Most Americans do not think that their children, at any age, are ever distant family members.
Similarly, barring entry of brothers and sisters of U.S. citizens because of the current backlog in that visa category is especially unfair to the citizens and their siblings who have followed the rules and waited patiently in line--some for 15 years or more.
H.R. 2202 imposes nearly insurmountable obstacles for U.S. citizens seeking to bring their own mothers and fathers to the United States. The legislation enables the U.S. Government to control and overrule the decisions of families by requiring that U.S. citizens purchase high levels of insurance for their parents and lowering the priority for the parents' visa category. This category will only receive visas if any are left over from other categories. The State Department projects that within 3 years after the law takes effect no visas will be available for parents.
In addition, H.R. 2202 will require citizens and legal residents to show that their income will be 200 percent above the poverty line in order to bring their parents, minor children, or spouses to the United States. More than 35 percent of Americans, over 91 million people, have incomes below 200 percent of the poverty line. The bill will have a devastating impact on American families who will be barred from living in the United States with their own husbands, wives, parents, and adult children.
Proposed restrictions in employment-based immigration will have a negative impact on the U.S. economy. It is crucial that the American workplace reflects the international character of its customers and responds to both domestic and international competitive pressures. Achieving such a work force requires looking beyond the U.S. labor market. Employees, researchers and professors possessing both innovative technical skills and multicultural competence ensures our economic viability in world markets.
Additionally, placing a cap on the number of refugees admitted to the United States ignores our leadership role in providing protection and safe harbor to those fleeing political and religious persecution. Strict levels of refugee admissions ignore the changing and urgent nature of refugee situations. U.S. policy should maintain the flexibility to respond appropriately to emergency situations.
I also have serious reservations about a national employment verification system which would tend to subject individuals to invasions of privacy and discrimination. Such a system would serve as an enormous administrative burden to the Nation's employers, especially small businesses. And even if such a system could be maintained with an error rate of only 1 percent--an impossibility since it would be based on INS and SSA data which have error rates of at least 30 percent--
hundreds of thousands of Americans would be denied employment opportunities annually because, according to an error in the data base, they were not eligible to work. Therefore, I support the Chabot-Conyers amendment, which would strike the employment verification system from the bill.
Finally, H.R. 2202 would restrict immigrants' access to all Federal means-tested programs. This means that programs like child care, immunizations, the Head Start Program, battered spouse shelters, and Maternal and Child Health Care Programs will be out of reach for needy women and children. Compromising the health and education of women and children hurts all Americans. Children must not be made to suffer from the actions of their parents. Furthermore, it is not in our national interest to have a population of malnourished, nonimmunized, and uneducated children.
H.R. 2202 also proposes to reimburse hospitals that provide emergency services to undocumented immigrants only if the hospital turns in the names of the undocumented people it serves. If this proposal becomes law people will fear seeking emergency care. By discouraging sick and critically ill people from seeking help, this provision jeopardizes not only the health of those who are ill, but also risks the well-being of their families and their communities. In addition, the measure will force doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators to spend valuable time and resources being law enforcers and learning to interpret immigration documents and understand the minutia of immigration law.
In short, there are no easy solutions for the deep-seated problems facing our Nation. Scapegoating, however, is not the answer. The issue has never been should we deal with immigration but how. Although H.R. 2202 comes clothed in good intentions, I am afraid the legislation does not capture fully the Commission's work and effectively bring about a long, lasting solution.
Immigrants are not the cause of the widening gap between rich and poor, the deterioration of our public schools or the violence in our streets. Indeed, the causes of these problems are much more fundamental and it is time they were addressed. We as Americans, can handle them without resorting to left wing or right wing rhetoric. This is what the American people demand and it is what they deserve.
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