Speech #920186728

Ill.. and Detroit. Mich.. to study all aspects of this very serious. nationwide problem. The subcommittee has heard 130 witnesses representing various interested parties: The Immigration and Naturalization Service. health. welfare. and labor officials from State and Federal Governments. employers. illegal aliens. labor unions. employer associations. agricultural grower associations. ethnic groups. State legislators. and various civic and religious groups. Sixteen of these individuals were officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service who are intimately familiar with the practical and legal aspects of this problem. These officials have been willing to testify and they have been most cooperative in responding to the requests and the questions of the subcommittee in defining the issues. The hearings on illegal aliens have evoked an immense public concern. Due to the extensive broadcast and press coverage of our subcommittees field hearings. few Americans today are unaware of the existence and the complexity of the illegal alien problem in the United States. In fact. a large amount of information received by the Immigration and Naturalization Service recently is a direct result of the illegal alien hearings which have been held. Thousands upon thousands of complaints and information on alleged illegal aliens come to the attention of the Immigration and Naturalization Service monthly. During the course of each hearing the members of the subcommittee have questioned the service witnesses at length regarding the number of investigations. the number of apprehensions. the number of deportations. as well as. the results of the investigations. We have learned from the service that for the most part. the "leads" pending action in the various field offices. are a residue of material from which the more productive information has been extracted. The service has found that the most effective utilization of its manpower is obtained by sending search teams into areas where illegal aliens are known to congregate or are employed. The soundness of this method of operation is illustrated by the results. In calendar year 1971. the service expelled over 402.000 illegal aliens. a near record figure. in addition. the service apprehension rate of illegal aliens has increased by 20 percent. Each of the directors of the INS field offices at which hearings were held stated to a man that they could use additional manpower. but stated further that more manpower was not the complete answer. They stated that the incentive for the illegal alien to work in the United States must be removed. This proposition was also supported by many other witnesses. It is to this question that our subcommittee has addressed itself. Indeed. if it were only a question of manpower. we could conclude the hearings today and leave the problem to the appropriate committee for solution. Some of my colleagues and various employees of the Immigration and Naturalization Service have suggested that the administrative reorganization of the service represents a surefire solution to the illegal alien problem. However. it is highly questionable that a change in the executive level of the Immigration and Naturalization Service would put the illegal alien problem to rest. This multifaceted problem does not lend itself to any simple solution. If it were so. our subcommittee would not have undertaken its timeconsuming and laborious investigation. Any realistic approach to corrective legislation must take cognizance of the "pushpull" factors underlying the aliens desire to enter this country surreptitiously or fraudulently in an effort to obtain employment. It is quite evident from the testimony received by the subcommittee that illegal aliens experience little or no difficulty in obtaining gainful employment after entering into this country. Aliens enter the United States by illegally crossing the borders. by fraudulently procuring visas abroad. by purchasing spurious documents. by being smuggled. or by entering with a valid visitors visa. however. with the intention of violating that status and taking employment. I repeat. we are convinced that the total answer to the illegal alien problem lies not in erecting barriers on. or increasing the policing of. our borders. but in other avenuesprincipally by removing the incentive which draws aliens into the United States. It is evident that a doubling or tripling of the present manpower of the Immigration and Naturalization Serviceputting officers shoulder to shoulder on the borderwould not in and of itself. solve this problem. Likewise. additional State Department visa issuing officers and a more intensive investigation prior to visa issuance. while helpful. would not provide the ultimate solution to this problem. Certainly. we can never condone aliens or any other person violating our immigration lawsWe must insist on orderly immigration as prescribed by law. The initial violation of law by the alien sets in motion a series of events which not only adversely affects the community. but also leads to his own exploitation. For example. in addition to expending large sums of money for fraudulent documents. which are used to illegally enter the country. the alien is often subjected to undue pressure from employers after arrival. For instance. many employers threaten the illegal alien with exposure unless he agrees to accept substandard wages or is willing to endure substandard working conditions. It is apparent that the true culprits are the persons who should be dealt with first if a long range answer is to be found. I am referring to the smuggler. the maker of false documents. the blackmailer. and the unscrupulous employer who knowingly hires illegal aliens. To leave this group out of the illegal alien question is akin to treating symptoms and ignoring the basic disease. The subcommittee has actively discussed the imposition of sanctions against violators of the immigration lawsthe forger. the smuggler. and the employer who knowingly hires illegal aliensand against nonimmigrants who take unauthorized employment. In considering these sanctions. many answers must be initially found. such as equipping employers with the means to identify those aliens who are not permitted to work while in this country. In drafting legislation to meet this practical identification problem. it may become necessary to exact the cooperation of the Social Security Administration. which is not required by present law and regulations to ascertain the immigration status or the alienage of an applicant for a social security card. This is a subject which will continue to be scrutinized by the subcommittee. In each city where our subcommittee has conducted hearings. Members of Congress have been notified of the purpose and intent of the hearings and have been requested to assist the committee in probing the issues. In several cities our colleagues joined us and were of immeasurable help in pinpointing local area problems. I remind my colleagues that the Subcommitee on Immigration and Nationality is continuing its hearings in New York City on March 10 and 11. Subsequently. we will have hearings in Washington. D.C.. on March 22. 23. and 24. and I invite any interested colleagues with information. assistance. or advice on this pressing problem. to appear before our subcommittee.