Speech #910174314

Mr. President. all immigrants to the United States must generally have valid immigrant visas upon any entry or reentry to the United States. Exempted from this general rule are immigrants. who are returning to an unrelinquished lawful permanent residence in the United States after a temporary absence abroad not exceeding 1 year. Such persons are issued a Form 1151. generally referred to as a "green card" and by regulation of the Attorney General are permitted to use this "green card" in lieu of an immigration visa or reentry permit. The Attorney General has and clearly should continue to have authority to promulgate such regulations. This bill is directed at an outgrowth and abuse of the above regulations concerning the "greencarder" who is classifted as an alien immigrant but who does not. in fact. maintain a bona fide permanent residence in the United States. This type of "greencarder" continues to reside in a foreign country and commutes daily or frequently to work in the United States. The Immigration and Nationality Act normally requires such aliens to obtain an immigrant visa or reentry permit for each entry into this country. However. since these commuters or "greencarders" were primarily aliens working in U.S. border towns and living in contiguous foreign territory. an "amiable fiction" was created whereby employment was equated with permanent residence. Despite the fiction that the commuter is an immigrant. it is clear that what really has been established is a work permit system. This "amiable fiction" in its early years applies only to daily commuters in border towns. More recently. however. it has been extended far beyond border towns to seasonal workers who stay in the United States for longer periods of time.