Simpson Seeks 5-Year Cut in Legal Immigration

Sen. Alan K. Simpson (R-Wyo.), an influential voice in the perennial immigration debate on Capitol Hill, Wednesday unveiled legislation to lower temporarily the number of legal immigrants admitted to the United States and to increase the penalties for those who smuggle immigrants into the country illegally.

Alarmed by statistics indicating that immigrants now make up 35% of the nation’s annual population growth, Simpson proposed cutting the number of legal immigrants to 500,000 from 675,000 in each of the next five years.

The temporary reduction, he told reporters, would give authorities a breathing period in which to focus their efforts on stemming illegal immigration.

“After a decade of high immigration coupled with a tough recession and high unemployment, it is time to take a breather. In some particularly hard-hit areas of the country, there is a growing concern about the heavy costs to the taxpayer, not only of illegal immigration, but legal immigration as well,” said Simpson, ranking Republican on the Senate subcommittee that deals with immigration.

Simpson’s bill also would cap the number of refugees who could be given asylum in the United States at 80,000 annually, unless Congress raises the limit for a “crisis or an emergency.” It would double the penalty for smuggling illegal immigrants into the country to 10 years imprisonment and provide for the death penalty if an immigrant dies during a smuggling attempt.

The measure is only one of several legislative initiatives likely to be debated this year as lawmakers, responding to public pressure, begin pushing for a comprehensive reform of the nation’s immigration laws.