Speech #970273266

H.R. 7357. will go far toward accomplishing that goal. To call a halt to the long. drawnout process of hearings and appeals. the bill would streamline the proceedings so that decisions could be made swiftly regarding who should be admitted. To remove the lure of employment which draws most illegal aliens to the United States. the bill would penalize those employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens. Both these measures and many others in the bill would show the world that the United States is once again going to decide who is admitted here and why. While most of the bill does indeed strengthen our laws. one provision would have the exact opposite effect. An amnesty provision. which would "forgive" illegal aliens here before 1980 and give them legal status. is included. In my opinion this provision should be removed. I have several reasons for my position. The idea of rewarding lawbreakers is entirely contradictory to the Idea of toughening our laws. The provision makes a mockery of the actions of the thousands of people around the world who have been waiting patiently to emigrate legally to the United States. Also. once these aliens receive citizenship. their fanily members are eligible for admittance so we will see a ripple effect that may result in literally hundreds of thousands of potential "citizens." And. finally. in these budgetconscious times. there are serious questions as to who will pay for the services needed by the aliens. The bill attempts to address this aspect. but since no one has any idea of the real number of Illegal aliens who would be eligible for legalization. no one knows what the real costs will be. Aside from all this. there is the practical concern of Just how this legalization program would be carried out. According to a confidential INS planning document obtained by the Miami Herald and dated November 1. the INS has no idea how to effectively carry out the amnesty provision.