to meet the wishes of their constituencies.
This discussion of agenda setting on the immigration issue is organized around the four basic claims that were raised in the 1990s regarding the dangers of legal and illegal immigration. The use of these claims in setting the national agenda in the 1990s is discussed following a review of recent legislative efforts. The discussion of each claim concentrates on the questions of who was responsible for setting the agenda reflected in recent legislative debates, and what processes they employed to place their issues on that agenda. The first claim is, that immigrants are a drain on the nation's social services budgets. The second is the contention that, current immigration policies are changing the cultural makeup of the United States to such a degree that American culture is in danger of being suppressed. The result, such critics claim, is that the United States will be a splintered, or Balkanized, society with no shared moral or cultural principles. The third claim is that immigrants
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