The Foreign Service Journal, June 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2019 35 prayers of millions of people all over the world, have been sadly crushed by the McCarran Act, principally because it had perpetu- ated this quota system, which they consider to be antiquated, unrealistic, and cruelly discriminatory against certain races, religions and countries. —Fred M. Wren, FSO, from his “The McCarran-Walter Act” Reform Depends on Compromise Foreign Service Journal , October 1983 Whether Simpson/Mazzoli [the Simpson-Mazzoli Act, or Immigration Reform and Control Act] passes in this session—or any session—ultimately will depend on reaching a compromise among the various interest groups that have helped stymie it and their congressional supporters. These are the domestic groups that have played a leading role in the debate over immigration laws: • Hispanics. The national leadership of organizations like the League of United Latin American Citizens opposes the fines for employers of undocumented aliens out of fear that they will lead to employment discrimination against all Hispanics. At the least, they would like to see the creation of a separate commission to hear complaints of discrimination based on alienage. • Growers. As the segment of the U.S. economy most dependent on undocumented workers, agricultural growers have fought hard for concessions that would preserve their labor force. This year, Maz- zoli accepted a three-year transitional program that would allow the Southwest farmers to phase out the use of undocumented labor. The bill also would expand an existing program that allows the importation of foreign workers under controlled conditions. • Organized labor. Unions favor the employer fines as a means of opening up more jobs to U.S. citizens. But they are opposed to the bill’s proposed expansion of the Labor Department’s foreign worker program unless the interests of American workers are thoroughly protected. Lane Kirkland, president of the AFL-CIO, has said he cannot support a bill that does not have both a generous amnesty and the amendments to protect the U.S. labor market that were passed by the House Education and Labor Committee. Mazzoli has opposed such proposals in the past. • Civil liberties groups. The American Civil Liberties Union is worried by the provision in both House and Senate bills calling for the administration to develop “a more secure identification system.” This concept is implicit in employer sanctions since companies will need to check reliable documentation before hiring new workers. The Senate bill now requires all Americans hired after its enactment to present two forms of identification. Civil libertarians fear this could lead to a national identification card, a goal denied by Simpson. —Stephen P. Engelberg, Washington correspondent covering immigration issues for the Dallas Mornings News, from his “Consular Affairs and Domestic Politics” A Surge of Job-Seekers Is Inevitable Foreign Service Journal, December 1994 In 1972, after two years of studies and hearing, a presiden- tially appointed commission, headed by John D. Rockefeller III, delivered its report, “Population and the American Future.” The Rockefeller Commission recommended, among other things, that the government cap immigration at 400,000 people a year. In terms of migration to the United States, what has hap- pened since 1972? • Annual levels of legal immigration to the United States have just about doubled, from 500,000 in 1972 to 1 million in 1994. • Annual levels of illegal immigration have at least doubled to an estimated 300,000 permanent settlers, mostly from or through Mexico. • Meanwhile in 1980, 1986 and 1990, three major bills on immigration were passed by Congress, all of which helped raise legal immigration levels. The 1986 bill automatically provided legal resident status to more than 3 million people who had entered the United States illegally before 1982. The prospect of increasing pressures on U.S. borders is down- right alarming, since the world’s population is growing by 100 million a year, with the economic gap ever widening between the richer, industrialized nations and the poorer, developing nations, where virtually all population increases are occurring. Meanwhile, the poorer countries face increasing levels of unem- ployment as work forces grow every year by 50 million, while the mechanization of agriculture and the automation of labor-inten- sive industries like textiles have eliminating many jobs. A surge of job-seekers to the United States is inevitable, whether through legal or illegal channels. So what can be done? The United States’ first and most imme- Immigration reform bill sponsors Senator Simpson (R-Wyo.), at left, and Representative Mazzoli (D-Ky.), center, with Attorney General William French Smith. FSJ OCTOBER 1983