Speech #970041681

I am submitting to the desk two amendments to the Justice Department authorization bill. I plan to bring them up later during consideration of the authorization bill. The first restores to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) funds for hiring inspectors. investigators. and people who help process immigration applications. The second makes a cut of 2.5 percent in several Justice Department programs to effect the spending above the INS authorization level recommended by the Senate Budget Committee. The first would restore to the authorization bill: 200 positions in inspections. 309 positions in investigations. and 94 positions in status verifications. As I understand it. the Senate Judiciary Committee has already restored a total of 360 positions--200 in adjudications and 160 in the Border Patroland I applaud that action. This amendment would insure that INS would have the manpower it needs to carry out its basic functions. especially to enforce the immigration laws. In fact this amendment does no more than restore these positions to their original 1982 base. The administration had proposed to eliminate 1.355 positions from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. This at a time when immigration to the United States is at its highest level in our history. By law. 270.000 aliens are allowed to immigrate into the United States each year. In spite of this ceiling. last year over 800.000 persons were admitted. including 133.000 Cuban/Haitian entrants. In 1979. 600.000 persons were admitted. in 1978. 600.000 persons were admitted. These numbers do not include illegal immigrants who are currently living in the United States. Although accurate counts are unavailable. estimates of illegal immigrants living in the United States today run from 3.5 million to 6 million. In Florida and in many other parts of the country. the present immigration situation is seen as one of our major problems. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) is charged with enforcing the immigration and citizenship laws. At this point when the need for effective enforcement has never been greater. the administrations 1982 budget request for INS calls for a decrease of 1.355 positions from the 1981 staffing levela 12.4 percent personnel reduction. The INS is beng asked to absorb 45 percent of the total position reduction in the entire Justice Department. Most of the personnel cuts come in programs that directly involve the screening. detection. and deportation of illegal aliens. The proposed cuts include a 38percent reduction in the number of personnel whose job it is so seek out and arrest illegal aliens. a 37percent reduction in personnel for processing applications for benefits. and a 12percent reduction in the number of personnel assigned to inspect aliens arriving at U.S. ports of entry. Such reductions are not in the interest of effective and efficient government. a goal which the administration is committed to achieve. At a time when the Nation is increasingly concerned about the growth of the illegal alien population. it makes no sense to eliminate those whose job it is to reduce and control that population. I would like to take a moment to give an update on the current immigration situation in Florida. On Tuesday morning. 300 Haitians arrived in Florida. hundreds continue to arrive each week. In addition. a district court judge has just tied the hands of the Government and prevented it from deporting those who have been found to have arrived in our country illegally. This came a week after the Attorney General had found that due process had been extended to the Haitians who were undergoing exclusion hearings. We do not know how long this situation will continue.