18 October 2001

U.S. Increasing Security But Not Closing Its Doors to Immigrants

The new policy debate in the United States on how to combat terrorism "is all about security, not whether we should continue to admit immigrants," State Department official Douglas R. Hunter told the European Migration Conference in Brussels October 16, and while "substantial and significant" changes will be made in the way the United States manages the entry of immigrants and visitors, he said, "we will not close our doors to the outside world."

Hunter, the acting deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, said the United States is currently reviewing a range of options for protecting itself against those wish to do it harm including stricter controls at borders and airports, improved visa and passport security, and new measures to track the presence of aliens.

Another critical issue under discussion is a restructuring of the U.S. immigration service that would separate law enforcement functions from activities that dispense benefits to immigrants, and Hunter said President Bush supports this proposal.

On the issue of refugee protection, Hunter said countries must continue to offer asylum to the persecuted -- "whether that persecution comes from a state or from some other entity," and that the United States remains committed to providing its fair share of resources to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for such programs.

Finally, he said, the United States and Europe should cooperate closely to shape future discussion and action on migration and asylum matters.

"While joint efforts on counter-terrorism have to be our highest priority, let us not lose sight of the positive, forwarding-looking aspects of this dialogue. Flows of immigrants and asylum seekers will continue, and so will our need to deal with them in a way that benefits our societies and meets our protection obligations," he said.

[The United States admits more than one million immigrants a year, mostly those whose family members are already here and those admitted for specific employment categories. It also admits approximately 100,000 persons for humanitarian reasons.]

Let me begin by expressing our thanks to the Belgian Presidency [of the European Union] for the invitation to the United States to participate in this important event, and to share U.S. perspectives on immigration policy.

Immigration Policy Challenges

Last July, President Bush spoke on the subject at Ellis Island in New York harbor, the gateway through which many European immigrants passed en route to their new lives in the United States. He highlighted the contributions immigrants make to our society and our economy, emphasizing that "immigration is not a problem to be solved. It is a sign of a confident and successful nation." Today I acknowledge the terrible uniqueness of this moment for the United States, this time of great challenge. We want to express our most profound thanks to our friends and allies in Europe who are standing with us in the fight against terrorism.

It is important to explain that for most Americans, the intense new policy debate on terrorism is all about security, not whether we should continue to admit immigrants. There will be changes -- substantial and significant -- in the way the United States manages the entry of immigrants and visitors to our territory, but we will not close our doors to the outside world.

In Washington there is a wide range of options currently under review to make our country more secure from those who wish America harm. The list includes: stricter controls at our borders and airports, increased use of technology to support our immigration operations, improved visa and passport security, new measures to track aliens' presence in our country, and strengthened law enforcement cooperation at home and overseas.

One of the critical issues currently before us is how our immigration service should be structured. Many in Washington, including several key members of our legislature, believe that no significant change should be made to our immigration program until our immigration service is itself re-organized. The proposals under consideration would separate the agency's enforcement functions -- protecting our borders and deporting people who are in the U.S. illegally -- from its "benefits-granting" activities, such as the granting of temporary and permanent immigrant status.

The assumption underlying this view is that co-mingling the two activities detracts from our ability to effectively enforce our laws, and to dispense immigration benefits in a fair and humane manner to those who deserve them. President Bush supports the proposal to make this type of change to the U.S. Immigration Service.

Multilateral Cooperation

Another key challenge -- which you in Europe also face -- is developing collaborative rather than combative relationships with the [countries] of origin and transit.

We have observed with great interest your efforts to engage countries of origin in migration discussions. The High Level Working Group on Migration and Asylum is a pioneering effort to coordinate migration policy with development assistance and strategies. On our side of the Atlantic, the Administration is cooperating closely with Mexico on matters of labor migration and the human rights of migrants. Together, the U.S. and Mexico are considering temporary worker programs that are both credible and fair, but we acknowledge this will take time to resolve.

The United States, Mexico, and Canada are also cooperating in a broader dialogue with our neighbors in Central America under the auspices of the "Regional Conference on Migration" (also known as the "Puebla Process").

We have found that engaging in such discussions with our immediate neighbors has produced regional consensus on the importance of managed, orderly migration. Our current agenda includes: trafficking in persons; reception programs in countries of origin for migrants returned from the U.S.; a statistical information system for analyzing the migrant flows into and out of each country; and assisted return of extra-regional migrants.

U.S. Immigration

In the U.S. experience, the ability to manage migration stems in part from providing sufficient opportunities for people to migrate through legal channels, coupled with enforcement activities to defend the integrity of the immigration system. The United States admits well over half a million immigrants a year. Most come because of close family ties; the second largest group is admitted for specific employment categories. We also admit approximately 100,000 people on humanitarian grounds -- some 70,000 through our refugee resettlement program. With so many immigrants entering the U.S. every year, we feel strongly that the issue of integration is as important as admission in ultimately reaping the benefits of immigration.

For Americans, integration is grounded in citizenship; most legal immigrants qualify for American citizenship in five years. We have made an effort to encourage eligible immigrants to become citizens and to speed up the processing of their cases while maintaining integrity of the system.

Refugee Protection

I would like to close with a word on refugee protection. We are heartened by Europe's firm commitment to the Refugee Convention and Protocol, and congratulate the Commission and the Council on their success in developing the proposals called for by the Tampere Summit.

Even in these difficult times, we must continue to offer protection to the persecuted, whether that persecution comes from a state or from some other entity. The U.S. seeks to fulfill this duty partly through maintaining a generous refugee resettlement program, and by continuing to make asylum available to those who need it. Collectively, donor countries must provide the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) with the resources necessary to ensure that these refugee protection principles are carried out. The United States remains committed to providing its fair share and urges others to do likewise.

This year, UNHCR's "Global Consultations" process has presented us all with an opportunity to try to address some of the most vexing issues in refugee protection as we enter the 21st century, and to better our understanding of the nexus between asylum and migration including the problem of migrant smuggling. We are pleased to note the close involvement of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in this process.

Conclusion

The United States looks forward to closer cooperation with Europe in the year to come. At the last U.S.-EU Summit, we committed ourselves to a stronger transatlantic partnership on migration and asylum matters. While joint efforts on counter-terrorism have to be our highest priority, let us not lose sight of the positive, forwarding-looking aspects of this dialogue. Flows of immigrants and asylum seekers will continue, and so will our need to deal with them in a way that benefits our societies and meets our protection obligations. The United States and Europe should help to shape these issues for the future.

Thank you for your attention this morning, and I look forward to the discussions to come.