Connie Mack: “Today I join my friends Senator Graham and Senator Kennedy in introducing a bill which would ease the transition into…”

“Today I join my friends Senator Graham and Senator Kennedy in introducing a bill which would ease the transition into implementation of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 [IIRAIRA] for certain Central American immigrants. This legislation, which has been requested by President Clinton, is designed to ensure that those immigrants who were in the administrative pipeline at the time IIRAIRA took effect will have their cases decided under the set of rules in place before enactment of IIRAIRA. This legislation will by no means grant amnesty to anyone; it will ensure that each individual will have their application for suspension of deportation given full and fair consideration. This legislation is a matter of freedom, justice, human rights and fundamental fairness. During consideration of IIRAIRA, I maintained that those immigrants who were already in this country should not have the rules changed on them midstream. Many Central American immigrants have planted deep roots in the United States and are valued members of their communities. They should be free from the fear of deportation without a full consideration of their request for suspension of that deportation under the set of rules in place at the time that they applied.”