Speech #720021293

Mr. President. the situation with reference to that item is this: Last year there was a deficiency in connection with the administration of the immigration law of four or five hundred thousand dollars. A provision was offered in the Senate to a deficiency appropriation bill to cover that item. but instead of doing that we provided in the regular appropriation bill that $500.000 of the money appropriated for this activity should be made immediately available in order to take care of that deficiency. So the amount of money available for the current year was practically diminished by that sum. The bureau have been increasing their activities with reference to the deportation of aliens who have either come into the United States illegally or who can be deported legally. The deficit is about $650.000. as I recall it. The department officials find. however. that they have saved. so to speak. $175.000 of the appropriation for the border patrol. That saving has been brought about by a more economical administration and conduct of those particular affairs. So they felt that they could use that to help meet deficiency. leaving $475.000 for which they are asking. This amount is necessary to enable the bureau to deport aliens who are found to be here either illegally or who are willing to be deported. The department has felt that it was justified in deporting such aliens at the expense of the Government. They have looked into the individual cases very carefully and found that those who are willing to be deported will be public charges if they are not deported. The expense of deporting is from $80 to $90 a head. and the department officials figure that it is economy for the Government to deport them. If the aliens have been here for less than three years they are subject to deportation. and. rather than have them remain here as public charges it is thought to be in the interest of economy on the part of the Government to bear the expense of deporting them.