David Vitter: “there have been significant studies since 1986 that have looked specifically at the impact of what Congress did then.…”

“there have been significant studies since 1986 that have looked specifically at the impact of what Congress did then. What do these studies show? A 2000 report by the Center for Immigration Studies states: INS estimates show that the 1986 amnesty almost certainly increased illegal immigration, as the relatives of newly legalized illegals came to the United States to join their family members. Again, these are INS statistics, not some think tank on the conservative side. These INS statistics show that even though 2.7 million illegal aliens were granted lawful citizenship through the amnesty program--and by the way, that was far more than anticipated-- within 10 years, a new illegal alien population had replaced all of those and had grown to 5 million. That growth only continued. Again, that growth today has gone from 140,000 illegal aliens streaming across the border per year back in 1986 to 700,000 per year today. That growth has been 3 million illegal aliens in the country going back to 1986 to at least 12 million today. There was another study in 1992, 6 years after the agricultural amnesty program was passed. The Commission on Agricultural Workers issued a report to Congress--so a specific report to Congress that studied the effects, again, of the 1986 agricultural amnesty program. First, the Commission found that the number of workers amnestied under the bill had been severely underestimated.…”