[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 24, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4008-S4009]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              IMMIGRATION

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, we are here today going to take up 
legislation that I hope will pass before the end of this legislative 
week. It is very important legislation. It is major immigration reform.

  We have a problem in America with illegal immigration. We are not 
controlling our borders. We have illegal immigrants in this country 
that are taking advantage of the taxpayers of this country. There needs 
to be some changes. There needs to be some relief in the way we handle 
immigration in America, particularly as it applies to illegal 
immigrants.
  This legislation has already been delayed a week now while we argue 
over

[[Page S4009]]

whether or not to allow extraneous matters, amendments that are not 
relevant to this legislation. Whether or not they will be added, it is 
a distraction. We can work out these matters. They can be offered on 
other occasions, on other bills. I plead with my colleagues for us to 
keep our focus on the bill before us--illegal immigration reform. If 
you want this problem to be dealt with, you have to give us the time to 
deal with the amendments that are relevant, those that are pending. 
Others, I am sure, will be welcomed.
  We can work on this legislation today and hopefully finish it 
tomorrow. If we get sidetracked with issues that are not relevant, have 
not been considered by the committee that is bringing this bill up, it 
will delay it, maybe even cause it to be withdrawn or maybe not be 
completed. The American people want this action. We need to face up to 
doing the right thing.
  The Senator makes the point about the minimum wage. I know there are 
discussions going on now in a bipartisan way, and among the leadership 
on all sides of the Capitol, both sides of the Capitol, to come up with 
a way to consider how we address the problems of job security in 
America.
  I am worried about job security. I am worried about people that will 
lose their jobs and small businesses that could lose jobs in their 
business or have to pay the costs of what the Senator from 
Massachusetts is proposing. We need to think about how we proceed on 
this. I think we can come up with a degree to proceed.
  In the meantime, we need to address this problem: How we can help 
State and local officials in dealing with illegal immigrants. The bill 
reported from the Committee on the Judiciary focuses on the problem of 
illegal immigration, entry into the territory without official approval 
as an immigrant, refugee, or alien. That illegal entry is a crime. We 
need to start with that. It is a crime. ``Illegal'' means you are doing 
something that is wrong and is a crime.
  It may have extenuating circumstances. It may make sense for those 
who undertake it to come into this country. Obviously, they are 
attracted to the free enterprise system in America. They have economic 
and social concerns for their families. It is a crime and strikes at 
the heart of one of the conditions of nationhood: the ability to 
control the borders of our own country. That is what this bill is about 
and what our debate this week should be about.

  I hope we will not be treated to accusations of xenophobia and racism 
from those who oppose a legitimate crackdown on illegal immigration. 
You talk about job loss; there are problems where jobs are being 
improperly taken by these illegal immigrants. What we are trying to do 
with this legislation is reestablish order and control over the process 
of entering the United States. Orderly immigration has always been a 
net good for our country. If we tried to catalog the major 
contributions--scientific, economic, cultural, patriotic--of immigrants 
in the last few decades, it would take more time than we could spare 
here. Just as industrial America grew strong from the human capital of 
Ellis Island, so is our country's future being created anew by our new 
citizens that come in from every corner of the world. That is fine.
  The Republican platform in 1992, the one some of the news media 
denounce as antiimmigrant, put it this way:

       Our Nation of immigrants continues to welcome those seeking 
     a better life. This reflects our past, when some newcomers 
     fled intolerance; some sought prosperity, some came as 
     slaves. All suffered and sacrificed but hoped their children 
     would have a better life. All searched for a shared vision--
     and found one in America. Today we are stronger for their 
     diversity.

  Uncontrolled immigration, however, is a different matter. We simply 
cannot allow our borders to be overrun, our laws flouted, and our 
national generosity abused. Every year, over one million persons are 
turned back while attempting illegal entry into this country. But many 
more are not apprehended and get into the country. There are probably 
more than 4 million illegal aliens now in this country. Their numbers 
are growing at about 300,000 to 400,000 people each year. That is 
unacceptable. The American people are paying a tremendous price because 
of it.
  It was not so long ago that Congress legislated amnesty for persons 
then illegally in the United States. Hundreds of thousands illegal 
aliens and undocumented aliens, they were preferred to be called, took 
the opportunity to regularize their presence here. Many of them have 
now become citizens. More power to them. But to balance that 
unprecedented amnesty--and to make sure it need never be repeated--we 
need to pass this legislation.
  I urge my colleagues to keep their focus on this important 
legislation. We should get it done. It is overdue.

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