Speech #930120757

This is especially true in larger cities like Chicago and Los Angeles. Social workers place greater emphasis on the needs of their clients than upon their eligibility for relief. There simply are not enough welfare funds and food stamps to serve Illegal alien applicants and adequately care for our own needy people. There is no way to estimate the millions of dollars sent out of this country in the form of social security benefits to persons who acquired their eligibility while working here illegally and who were subsequently deported. Those aliens here illegally. or those here in a legal status but working in violation of the terms of their entry. create a competitive situation of some magnitude in the Job market. and especially with those jobs of a menial nature. wherein unemployment tends to run at a high level. A survey last year in the suburbs of a large eastern city revealed that approximately 20 percent of the jobs were held by illegal aliens. In the entire spectrum of public service. ranging from police and fire protection to public assistance to medical care. these neediest of the needy compete with American citizens. Not even in a country as big and as wealthy as this one can we care for our own unfortunate citizens and those who have illegally slipped across our borders. Since coming to Congress I have. as a member of the Legal and Monetary Affairs Subcommittee of the House Committee on Government Operations. sat through several days of hearings to examine the economy and efficiency of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. It is this agency that Is charged with enforcing immigration laws and keeping our borders secure. While the complete findings by the subcommittee are some months away from being compiled. it has become abundantly apparent to me that managerial and operational weaknesses on the part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service are not all of their own making. Rather. they are the product of the parent agency. Department of Justices failure to attach a proper degree of importance to the vital function of the INS.