Speech #970274848

Mr. Chairman. I would like to make two observations that appear in the report of the Select Commission on Immigration. The final report stated that Increased enforcement capability should be an integral part of recommendations to curb the flow of immigration. In the report of the committee at the bottom of page 6. it says it is the sense of Congress that an essential element of the program of immigration and reform established by this act is an increase in border patrol and other enforcement activities of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. and that the increase in the level of the border patrol must be done to achieve an effective level of control of illegal immigration. Let me point this out. We have been talking in the last 2 days about the people who are in this country. I would like to state that I have asked my staff to check with the immigration people. the Immigration and Naturalization Service to come up with some information. and I think it should be made a part of this RECORD. One is that the length of the area between the Mexican border and the United States of America consists of 1.933 miles. The Canadian coastline is 3.000 or say 3.900 miles. We talk about an increase in border patrol. The number of border patrol officers in the United States on duty as of the end of October 1982 was 2.600. The number authorized by Congress was 2.800. We are 214 short because there were insufficient funds to pay and equip that many people.