Speech #970096232

Mr. President. in yesterdays Washington Post. there was an article which outlines the dilemma this country faces in trying to deal with the increasing flow of Haitian migrants. According to the article. a few private lawyers have been able to outmaneuver the Department of Justice and have succeeded in bringing our immigration enforcement efforts to a virtual standstill. However. this is not a new dilemma. This legal twilight zone has existed for several years and the recent legal action is merely a continuation of it. There can be no respect for our immigration laws until they are enforceable. at the present time. the legal delays have effectively rendered them unenforceable. This problem will not be resolved until Congress firmly establishes that aliens who enter the United States under these circumstances are not entitled to all of the due process rights which citizens are entitled to. The Federal courts have held that Congress has this authority and it is folly for us to assume that the almost 50.000 cases which are now backlogged can be disposed of in any other way. On March 24. 1981. I introduced S. 776. the Immigration and National Security Act. which would solve this problem without the necessity for conductIng dangerous interdictionatsea operations which are now underway. My bill would create a system which would require fair hearings. but would severely discourage the lengthy legal delays that we are now experiencing. Once this process is underway and illegal arrivals are actually being deported. the word will quickly spread that our immigration laws are being speedily and effectively enforced. This type of legal deterrent will be far more effective in the long run than the much more dangerous interdictionatsea program. I ask that the article from the Washington Post be printed in the RECORD.