Speech #960254938

It encompasses the findings of 5 months of intensive investigation and 14 days of wideranging hearings. It authorizes the Department of Justice to be appropriated $2.097.217.000an amount equal to the Presidents January budget. I wish to add some brief comments regarding the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Since becoming a Member of this body I have developed a keen awareness of the priorities of the Justice Department. For the last 2 years I have had an opportunity to chair oversight hearings on various components of the Department including the Immigration and Naturalization Service. I have even been more aware of this Nations immigration and refugee problem as a member of the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy. As a .result of these experiences I believe that the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Department has not received the type of support that it needs from the administration. The Department appears to place a rather low priority on INS problems. I encourage the administration to take a closer look at several of the continuing problems that exist in the INS as expressed in the report accompanying this bill. While I have seen some progress over the last 2 years I believe that a lot more could be done. One assignment for which INS has received little recognition is the Services processing of thousands of Cubans Into the United States. Through June 17. 1980 the Immigration and Naturalization Service had processed 113.711 Cubans into the United States. More than half of these had completed all screening and clearance and had been released to sponsors or family members. INS currently has 447 employees on duty at the Cuban processing centers at Eglin Air Force Base.