Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 4300 - Family Unity and Employment Opportunity Immigration Act of 1990

(House Rules)
(Morrison (D) Connecticut and 32 others)

If H.R. 4300 were presented to the President in its current form, the Attorney General and the Secretaries of Labor and Transportation would recommend a veto. The Administration?s principal concerns are that H.R. 4300 would:

—  Grant the immediate relatives of lawful permanent residents the same immigration privileges as those of U.S. citizens. H.R. 4300 would eliminate an incentive for lawful permanent residents to seek naturalized citizenship, impeding the full integration into U.S. society of certain immigrants.

—  Fail to ensure that a sufficient number of employment- related immigration visas would be utilized by skilled workers.

—  Fail to provide for an appropriate balance between the levels of employment-related and family-connected immigration, as provided for in S. 358 as passed by the Senate.

—  Rewrite the law relating to "temporary" immigrants, i. e., non-immigrants. Revision to the admissions system for non-immigrants would be premature until the effect of changes to permanent immigration classifications on the demand for non-immigrant visas is ascertained.

—  As reported by the Judiciary Committee, assess a fee against employers who petition for the admission of foreign workers, even when the employers have attested that they have attempted unsuccessfully to recruit U. S. workers.

—  Increase FY 1991 outlays by $296 million by expanding the scope of the State Legalization Impact Assistance Grant (SLIAG) mandatory program.

—  Impose longshore employer sanctions requirements on owners of foreign vessels that would be unnecessary, inappropriate, and extremely burdensome.

Among the Administration's other concerns with H.R. 4300 are that it would:

—  Provide conditional permanent resident status to aliens from so-called "adversely-affected" foreign states. This would effectively create an amnesty for certain illegal aliens who entered the U.S. prior to January 1, 1990. The Administration opposes any expansion of the amnesty granted by the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

—  Remove the Attorney General's discretion to determine which immigration emergencies warrant the disbursement of "immigration emergency funds."

—  Establish a math and science scholarship program. The Administration urges, instead, enactment of the President's proposed National Science Scholars program.

—  Create an administrative burden which could not be borne under current budget constraints. The increased numbers of immigrants would require corresponding increases in consular officers in embassies throughout the world.

—  Eliminate an essential element in the examination of applications for non-immigrant visas (i.e., whether the applicant had sought an immigrant visa or other permanent status). This provision could result in issuance of non-immigrant visas to all applicants, even those who clearly intend to remain indefinitely in the U. S.

—  Remove the requirement for exhaustion of administrative remedies and abandon current law regarding the limits of judicial remedies in immigration disputes.

—  Introduce an "attestation" process for permanent immigrants to replace the current labor certification process for foreign workers. This provision could weaken protections for U.S. workers and would be more costly and difficult to administer than the current process. As one example, it could result in fraudulent "employer" schemes for illegal immigration.

The Administration supports legal immigration reform that would enhance skill-based immigration while facilitating the unification of families. It also supports an increase in immigration levels above those in current law.