Speech #970042765

Section (E) reads "an alien who is present in the United States under color of law * * *" Mr. Chairman. my amendment is designed to insure that certain categories of aliens who are legally in the United States can continue to avail themselves of Legal Services assistance. In that respect. it meets the criteria of the gentleman from Texas in that undocumented aliens are not included. Let me stress that point: Undocumented aliens are not the subject of this amendment any more than they are the subject of the substitute offered by the gentleman from Florida . Color of law requires documentation and. hence. excludes surreptitious entrants unknown to the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The amendment offered by the gentleman from Florida seeks to limit Legal Services Corporation representation to a very few classes of aliens: permanent resident. immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. refugees. and those whose deportation is withheld because of a fear of persecution should they be returned to their homeland. While I can appreciate the concern of the gentleman from Florida and certainly understand his desire to specifically set forth in the law categories of aliens eligible for assistance. I would like to point out to the Members the pitfalls that I see in this approach.