WASHINGTON: The most dramatic overhaul of immigration policy in 30 years, including stringent border controls and significantly lower limits on legal immigration, cleared its first hurdle in the House yesterday.
After four days of wrangling with mostly technical amendments, the Judiciary subcommittee on immigration sent the 300pluspage bill, introduced last month by Representative Lamar Smith, RT exas, to the full committee relatively unchanged.
Panel members agreed to defer debate on the more controversial amendments until full committee consideration, expected after the August congressional recess,
Primarily, opponents want the bill’s provisions dealing with legal and illegal immigration dealt with separately.
In addition to politically popular measures clamping down on illegal immigrants, the bill (HR1915) would reduce from about 830,000 t0 585,000 the number of foreigners eligible for legal entry and restrict visas to highly skilled workers and the spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens and legal residents.
“We’re taking the rage over illegals ‘out on legal immigrants and trying to fix a system that isn’t broken,” commented Representative Howard Berman, DC alif, who said he will try in the full committee to delete the bill’s changes affecting legal immigration.
‘House majority leader Dick Armey, RTexas, has also said he opposes cutting the number of legal immigrants, which he called “a resource for creativity and growth.”
Smith, chairman of the immigration subcommittee, contends that under his bill “America will continue to be the most generous nation in the world” in terms of accepting newcomers.
Article extracted from this publication >> July 28, 1995
