Speech #990278978

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the conference report accompanying S. 1200. the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. I have worked on the issue of immigration reform for a number of years and. as a member of the House Judiciary Committee. I have served on two conference committees on this issue. Both the House and the Senate have worked tirelessly on this legislation and Members representing many divergent points of view were able to come together in order to fashion a compromise bill. While the bill before us is by no means a perfect bill. it is the best bill we can get at this time. Never before in our Nations history have our borders been so severely tested by the huge numbers of people attempting to illegally cross them. There is already a crisis on the southern border and our Border Patrol is inadequate to meet the crisis and carry out effective border enforcement. Nearly 1.8 million illegal aliens were apprehended in fiscal year 1986. This represents a 50percent increase over the previous fiscal years level and by every indication the numbers are growing. There are tremendous social and fiscal costs which many of our communities. particularly in the Southwest. must bear as a result of illegal immigration. Drug smuggling and increased criminal violence are turning our border into a war zone. More and more crimes in our border communities are attributed to illegal aliens. In addition. our social service costs are rapidly increasing. especially costs for hospitals and maternity care. S. 1200 represents what Congress can do to begin to solve the tremendous problems we face. Employer sanctions and improved enforcement are at the heart of this bill. Another basic part of the legislation is a program of legislation for all those illegal aliens who have been here since before January 1. 1982. Despite estimates by some that only about onethird of the total illegal population will be eligible for legalization under the bill. the fact remains that significant chain migration will occur because newly legalized aliens will be able to bring in their spouses and children. and eventually their brothers and sisters and. in turn. their offspring. The numbers involved here could be staggering. As an opponent of amnesty I have voted consistently to take it out of the bill. but the House insisted by a mere seven votes to retain the provision. Perhaps the most objectionable aspect of blanket amnesty is the fact that it penalizes those tens of thousands of potential immigrants who are waiting legally to enter our country. There has been a compromise in the area of special agricultural workers and while the program outlined in the bill is not an ideal one. it is the best we can do if we intend to get an immigration reform bill out this year. I am especially pleased to report that the conference agreement retains the House language. which I authored along with Congressman DREIER. on increasing the Border Patrol by 50 percent. This provision is an essential part of the bill and is critical to effective border enforcement. Under the conference agreement. the Border Patrol would be able to hire up to 50 percent more Border Patrol agents over the fiscal year 1987 through 1988 period. I have long advocated this kind of measure having first introduced similar legislation in the 96th Congress. While there are features of the bill. including those I just mentioned. which trouble me and I am sure trouble other Members in this House.