Speech #920282597

Chairman. the bill which the committee brings to the floor today. H.R. 16188. Is the direct product of a yearlong investigation by the Immigration Subcommittee into the problem of the illegal alien. In discussing this problem. it might be remembered that the term "illegal alien" includes not only the alien who enters surreptitiously. but also the alien who enters legally as a noninunigrantvisitor. student. and so forthand thereafter violates the terms of his admission. Our committee has long been concerned with this problem and in recent years it has intensified to such an extent that there are presently between 1 and 2 million illegal aliens in this country. In 1970. the administration in their omnibus immigration bill included a provision which would Impose criminal penalties on those who knowingly employ illegal aliens. When the Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Hon. Raymond F. Farrell. appeared before the subcommittee in May of 1971. he indicated that the illegal alien problem had reached serious proportions. Consequently. my subcommittee immediately commenced a detailed investigation in order to determine the magnitude and scope of the problem and to determine the impact of illegal aliens on the domestic labor market. We traveled to five major cities throughout the countryLos Angeles. Calif..