Speech #930254576

The Department of Justice. as the law enforcement arm of the executive branch and administrator of the criminal justice system. has many functions which are particularly crucial to the Spanish speaking. such as the Civil Rights Division. Bureau of Prisons. Community Relations Service. and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Although the Immigration and Naturalization Service appears to have an unusually high percentage of Spanish surnamed employees. about 8 percent. it is worth noting that they serve a very large number of Spanish speaking persons. In fiscal year 1973. at least 34 percent of all immigrants to the United States were from Spanish language countries and 44 percent of all temporary visitors for pleasure were from Spain and Latin America. The U.S. Border Patrol. which. I am told. requires that all agents have a good command of Spanish. employs only 134 Spanish surnamed persons out of a total employment figure of 1.625. Since approximately 1.300 of their positions exist in the southwestern part of the United States and require Spanish language facility. it would seem that they must make a much greater effort to take advantage of the vast resource of native Spanishspeaking people who live in that section of the country.