Date: 1984-06-20
Speaker: SAM B. HALL (democrat)
Chamber: H

I thank the chairman. Mr. Chairman. I rise in support of the amendment of the gentleman from Florida . I imagine people are getting tired of this bill. I know I am. Everybody has talked on it too long. We have been talking about it for years. We started off trying to curtail people coining into this country illegally. That is the idea behind the bill primarily. That was going to be accomplished through employer sanctions. Well. that part of it is behind us. The purpose there is to stop the magnet. the draw of people coining here to take jobs. Then in the middle of the bill we had a guest worker program that allowed peopleand I voted for it. because I thought it had to be doneto allow people to come in tinder certain circumstances to work. where certain employers could not find people to work for them. Now we come to the last issue. more or less. in this bill. and that is to allow people. and I do not think we can emphasize this too much. to allow people who are herellegally to be granted amnesty. Now. let us stop and think about that just a moment. I am on this subcommittee that has been working with this bill and I cannot say enough for my friend. RoN MAzzoLI. who is the author of this bill. from Kentucky. He is an outstanding legislator. He has worked diligently and he and I just happen to have a little different opinion on this particular issue. But I cannot say enough for him. He knows I feel that way about him. But here we are. along with other Members who are taking an active Interest here today. and we are passing on the applications of people who are trying to come into this country legally every time our committee meets. Here are people who have been trying for years to come over here and come here rightfully the way people came here from Ellis Island. I do not think anybody came here illegally at that time. And I have heard that used some during this debate. They went through a process. a legal process. before they became citizens of this great Nation of ours. I think that is right. If we say to so many million people. and no one knows exactly how many. the mere fact that you are here and the mere fact that we do not know what to do with you but to state that we are going to run you ahead of all the people who are trying to come here legally and rightfully. in my way of thinking is a bad postion to get ourselves Into. Now what do we think we are going to accomplish by this? I think all of the evidence shows that since this bill has gotten to the point that it is that there has been a larger crossing of people from Mexico than there ever has been in history. They know more about what is in this bill than many of us do. I do not blame a single one of those good people for trying to come into this country. If I lived in Mexico I would want to come over here too. But that does not get us away from the proposition that they are here on an illegal basis. Now if we grant the relief that this bill calls for. does anyone within the sound of my voice think that we are not going to be doing the same thing over again within a period of less than 5 years? We know. if we are truthful with ourselves. that we are going to be going through this same charade within a period of 5 years. Now the Attorney General of the United States has the power and all he has to do is utilize it and use it to start granting some relief to people who have been here not less than 7 years. if they meet certain qualifications. What is wrong with that? Why should a person not. who is coming here. be required to meet some kind of requirement. That is what the Attorney General is here for. He has the right. he has the duty. he has the responsibility to do it. Now you might say well. he cannot do It overnight. No he cannot do it overnight. These 10 million people did not come here overnight either. I think that we are down to the point in this bill and I hear Members say. if you vote this out. I am going to vote against the bill. I think that is a bad position to take. I urge the approval of this amendment.