Speech #970136394

But in November. during the second round of budget cuts. it again reversed itself and requested a 6percent reduction in the INS budget. I again opposed the proposed cuts. To me this was a foolhardy action which would have demonstrated to other nations that the United States is not serious about controlling immigration. I was prepared to filibuster the continuing resolution if necessary to block the cuts. Fortunately. many of my colleagues also opposed the cuts and they were withdrawn. The continuing resolution passed without reducing the appropriation for the anency. The criminals who came among the Mariel refugees are perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the crisis. INS estimates that only 1 percent of the Cuban refugees had criminal records. Those refugees who committed serious crimes. such as rape and murder. have been detained in the Federal penitentiary in Atlanta. But there is no way to be certain of the precise number of criminals who came. Law enforcement officers can attest to the rise in crime that Florida experienced after the Mariel boatlift. Unfortunately. the activities of a few have unfairly given a bad name to the entire Cuban community. Unless we are successful in pursuing vigorous law enforcement efforts. the effects of the criminals will last long after the other facets of the refugee crisis have passed. The refugees who are convicted of committing felonies in this country should be deported in accordance with our immigration laws along with those who have been detained for their crimes in Cuba. I urge the administration to press with the Cuban Government for the unconditional repatriation of the Cuban criminals wir.h the Cuban Government. I was delighted with the administrationb decision to form a special blue ribbon task force. chaired by Vice President BusH. to focus on the problems of crime. drugs. and immigration in south Florida. This special task force can work with the Florida congressional delegation and with concerned citizen groups to help relieve the crime crisis in south Florida. This task force will help focus attention on the seriousness of the immigration situation in south Florida. That in turn. should enable us to better coordinate the Federal Governments efforts. and help asisure that we have the resources and the people we need to deal with this crisis and with the crime crisis. I stand ready to work with this task force. and to assist it in whatever way I can. The root cause of the current situation is that our Nation does not have an immigration policy. It will take numerous legislative reforms to strengthen our immigration laws so that this kind of crisis can be prevented in the future. Mr. President. I have joined with Senator HUDDLESTON in introducing S. 776. the Immigration and National Security Act. which is a comprehensive immigration reform package. The bill addresses the most serious and pressIng inadequacies of our current immigration laws. First. the bill sets a strict cap of 350.000 on the number of immigrants and refugees that can be accepted to the United States each year. Our current quota can be stretched like a rubber band. Although the official limit was 270.000 in 1980. at least 800.000 immigrants and refugees entered that year. In order to exceed the limit provided in S. 776. the President would have to borrow from the next years quota. reducing the number of immigrants who could come the following year. This gives the President the authority to respond to an emergency abroad. while guaranteeing that our yearly average will not exceed 350.000. S. 776 also seeks to eliminate the magnet of American Jobs which draws illegal aliens to this country by making it a crime for U.S. employers to hire an illegal alien. In conjunction. the bill calls for increased border patrol by INS to help prevent illegal immigration. Finally. the bill expedites the processing of applications for asylum so that we can avoid the lengthy administrative delays that have plagued U.S. response to the Haitian influx. Applicants for political asylum are eligible for a lengthy appeals procedure if their application is denied by INS. As we have seen. asylum cases can be tied up in the courts for years. My bill will streamline the appeals procedure and prevent lawyers from abusing it. Frankly. it does not make sense that aliens who arrive in this country illegally should acquire the full package of rights and privileges available to our own citizens simply because they are within our borders. Under existing circumstances. illegal immigrants are able to obtain federally subsidized legal representation to fend off deportation. I have introduced an amendment to the Justice Department appropriations bill which prohibits Federal money from being used to represent illegal aliens. I hope that this restrictive language will be included when the Senate considers the Justice Department appropriation for the remainder of 1982. Senator THURMOND has also introduced a major immigration reform bill on behalf of the administration and I understand that Senator SIMPSON. the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Policy is preparing legislation of his own in this area. I welcome these bills. I believe they demonstrate bipartisan recognition of the serious problems facing this Nation if we do not regain control of immigration. Mr. President. our country has a proud tradition of welcoming immigrants and refugees but events of the past year and a half have clearly demonstrated that our country cannot absorb unlimited numbers of people without creating economic and social problems for our own citizens. U.S. immigration laws are the most generous in the world. We cannot continue to allow illegal immigration to undermine the credibility of those laws. We must return to a position where we. not other nations. regulate the flow of immigrants and refugees to this country. Getting control of immigration and providing assistance to the State of Florida remain a top priority with me and must be a top priority of the 97th Congress during this second session.*