Washingtontimes.com
U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner James Ziglar yesterday said the United States "needs to find a way" to satisfy growing labor needs, but stopped short of advocating an amnesty program for illegal aliens now in the country.
In a speech to the Cato Institute, Mr. Ziglar — who will leave office at the end of the year — said several potential plans are being discussed by key government officials for immigrants now in the country, and that any final decision would be made by the administration and Congress.
But Mr. Ziglar noted for the mostly pro-open-borders Cato audience that the September 11 attacks on America "were caused by evil, not immigration" and he said Americans "should not judge all immigrants by the action of terrorists."
He said the defeat of terrorism depended on the identification of those who would do harm to the United States and not by stopping would-be immigrants looking for work. The INS commissioner said there was a growing concern among U.S. employers about their continued access to an adequate labor market.
President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, South Dakota Democrat, House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, Missouri Democrat, and the House Republican leadership all have proposed now-pending bills that would grant permanent residency status to thousands of illegal aliens in the United States.
Posted by Suzanne at October 19, 2002