Speaker. the memory of the Mariel boatlift in the spring of 1980 is not yet forgottenthe American people are still suffering from the effect of the mass invasion of 125.000 Cubansmany of whom were criminals or mentally ill prison Inmates. The uncontrolled boatlift that took place decisively showed the lack of clear executive authority to put a stop to this type of invasion. Last night I introduced the Immigration Emergency Act. H.R. 7234. along with my colleague Representative SHAW. to give clear emergency authorities to the President so that we can appropriately meet head on any future Marieltype emergency. The present laws are ambiguous and we must have a statutory plan of procedures and defined authorities for this purpose. The Immigration Emergency Act would permit the President to invoke for periods of 120 days special powers that are tailored to respond to the types of enforcement problems previously faced in south Florida. We should learn from this experience and move forward with this legislation. As a member of the Immigration Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. I plan to pursue this measure and will urge that hearings be scheduled as soon as possible. Following is a detailed sectionbysection analysis of H.R. 7234:
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Many were criminals or mentally ill prison inmates.