Speech #980095354

Persons granted parole status are included because of the inconsistency inherent in providing various Federal benefitsand hearing and appellate rightsto these individuals and at the same time denying access to counsel. CubanHaitian "entrants" have possessed this special designation for several years already. have been resettled in this country. and undoubtedly will be permitted to remain permanently. H2 workers. as the Judiciary Committee report on the Legal Services Act Amendments of 1983 points out. are "clearly in the United States as a result of decisions by the executive branch that such persons are a benefit to the American economy." Asylum applicants are included in H.R. 3222 because the nature of the threat that awaits a legitimate refugee fully justifies providing the procedural protections of counsel for the persons who asserts a claim of persecution. Persons escaping persecution. it must be remembered. often cannot take with them resources to hire attorneys. The United States. in my view. must not have two essentially different processes for determining asylum statusdepending on the finances of the applicant. The Judiciary Committee also has recognized the special situation of individuals granted extended voluntary departure or indefinite stays of deportation. The Judiciary Committee. in our report. concluded that "it would be anomalous to refuse to return these individuals to another country because of human rights problems there. while at the same time denying them access to legal services here." The Judiciary Committee reported bill. in contrast to Public Law 97377. also allows access to legal services by aliens eligible for permanent resident status under the suspension of deportation and registry provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The relief available under these provisions of immigration law are quite limited because of the stringent provisions on eligibility. Most of the categories delineated by the Committtee on the Judiciary consist either of aliens with substantial ties to the United States or aliens who face great personal risk from expulsion. The committee. in my view. has been guided by considerations of basic fairness in developing a limited list of exceptions to the alien disqualification.