Speech #970199965

This authority could also be used to prevent a U.S. citizen from leasing a boat in another country to transport aliens to the United States. Anyone who violates the prohibitions of the amendment would be subject to civil and criminal penalties and their vehicle would be subject to seizure by the Federal Government. An alien who arrives in the United States without proper documentation could be summarily excluded from entering the United States if he does not appear to have a ligitimate asylum claim. This provision could also be used to stop undocumented aliens traveling to the United States by sea before they reach U.S. territorial waters. utilizing the Presidents existing authority to interdict foreign vessels on the high seas. The Attorney General shall develop the procedures for deciding whether an alien shall be excluded or admitted to the United States for a hearing. The decision to exclude or admit would not be subject to judicial review. Finally. aliens who are admitted to the United States would be held in detention at Federal facilities specified by the President until their immigration status is determined. During the course of detention. the restraints of Federal environmental laws would not apply to the detention facilities. Aliens who are ineligible for asylum in the United States would be returned to the country they came from. or an appropriate third country. Current law requires that aliens be deported to the country they came from. In both the Cuban and Haitian influxes this has proven to be impractical because the Cuban Government has refused to repatriate the refugee and many of the Haitians came from the Bahamas. not Haiti. This provision of the amendment would make our laws more flexible and thus more enforceable. The purpose of my amendment is not to close our doors to legitimate refugees. The United States. as the epitome of a free. democratic republic. has a great responsibility to provide refuge to those fleeing persecution and repression. But we cannot accept every alien who arrives on our shores claiming persecution. simply because they are here. The legal definition of refugee is very narrow and should be reserved for those who are truly victims of persecution. If we are going to grant asylum to refugees. we must have an efficient and equitable system for deciding who qualifies. To do less is a disservice to all those who apply. whether they are eligible or not. as well as to the people of this country. Only casebycase review can reveal the merits of an asylum case. Granting blanket asylum or blanket exclusion to a group of people is clearly inappropriate. But individual review is. at best. a slow and cumbersome process. It has proved to be unworkable in the face of a mass migration. We must be able to regulate the flow of refugees to avoid overwhelming the system. The amendment I am submitting today will give the administration the tools necessary to prevent a mass migration so that refugees may be screened and processed in an orderly manner. before they arrive in the United States. Mr. President.