Speech #960335679

Mr. Speaker. H.R. 7273 is a noncontroversial legislative package that will improve the efficiency of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. promote a more equitable application of the immigration laws. and at the same time save several millions of dollars over the next few years. A few minor changes in the substitute committee amendment are included in my motion to suspend. The proposed changes are: First. deletion from the committee bill of provisions relating to G4 (international organization) aliens and suspension of deportation procedures. and second. inclusion of the technical amendment recommended by the Department of Justice to INS enforcement authority. These changes were made to accommodate concerns of certain minority members on the committee. Mr. Speaker. with these changes. the legislation has overwhelming bipartisan support. having been approved unanimously by my Subcommittee on Immigration. Refugees and International Law. and on voice vote by the full Judiciary Committee. It is strongly supported by the administration. H.R. 7273 is the product of lengthy study and deliberation by the subcommittee. which commenced with submission on April 30. 1979. of an administration proposal to "improve the efficiency of the Immigration and Naturalization Service." Virtually all the provisions recommended by the Department of Justice are embodied in H.R. 7273. which I originally introduced in August 1979. In addition. the committee bill includes a number of housekeeping provisions. some stemming from our consideration of private immigration bills. and others relating to unnecessary and burdensome congressional reporting requirements. Both sets of provisions are intended to promote a fuller and more efficient administration of our immigration law. Mr. Speaker. the bill accomplishes these objectives by eliminating some of the inequities in existing law. deleting certain requirements that have proved to be impractical and unproductive. and clarifying certain provisions that have been affected by confusing and sometimes. conflicting administrative and judicial decisions. Mr. Speaker. this bill is designed to save millions of dollars for the taxpayers and thousands of work hours for immigration officials by eliminating unnecessary reporting requirements to Congress by INS and by eliminating unnecessary reporting requirements by alieng. It also eliminates some naturalization requirements which will free up additional Immigration Service personnel time to deal with the very lengthy backlog that now exist in the naturalization process. Not only will this legislation save millions of dollars. but in addition it will reduce the private bill caseload of the Congress of the United States. It will do this by increasing the age for adoption of foreign born children. by granting permanent resident status for certain investors who have entered the United States. by changing provisions with respect to foreign medical graduates. and also by permitting the Department of Justice to waive the absolute bar to admission for those convicted of certain minor drug offenses. primarily in cases of family reunification. In addition. the bill is designed to help more effectively enforce the immigration laws. It does this by strengthening the forfeiture provisions under which the Immigration Services seizes vehicles. ships. and the like. that are used in the transportation of illegal aliens to the United States or within the United States. It also separates for the first time academic and nonacademic student visas so that more careful control can be exercised by INS over students coming to the United States. In addition. it reforms the deportation requirement and extends to the Government the same rights with respect to exclusion that now exist in deportation cases. Presently. we can deport a person under exclusion proceeding only to the country "whence he came." If that country is unwilling to acceot him. then he cannot be deported at all. This bill will also eliminate some inequities in the present immigration law. For example. this bill does away with discrimination against the fathers of illegitimate children. In an important step. the bill also places for the first time restrictions on the ability of the Immigration Service to inquire into the private sex lives of people under its jurisdiction. Thus adultery is no longer an automatic bar to naturalization. The bill also has another provision of concern to a number of States and localities around this country. It relates to the problem of foreign medical graduates who have been used to staff municipal and other hospitals. Four years ago the Congress permitted hospitals in this country that had been utilizing foreign medical graduates who did not pass qualifying examinations to have 4 years within which to phase out their reliance on them. Many of these institutions did not take advantage of the 4year period and continued to use foregn medical graduates who could not pass the visa qualifying examination. So. we find ourselves confronted today with the same situation we were in 4 years ago. This bill provides a 2year extension of the substantial disruption waiver period.