Speech #1020214068

Mr. Speaker. today I am pleased to introduce the Prevention o. Illegal Residency and Activity in Public Housing Act of 1992. a bill designed to require public housing agencies to ensure that dwulling units are not occupied by undocumented aliens and are not being used for illegal activities as a condition of receiving Federal assistance. This is the 10th legislative proposal I have introduced to stop Illegal immigration Into the United States. I need not recite all the statistics which have been published already showing that our country Is facing a major crisis caused by illegal Immigration. The Immigration and Naturalization Service has estimated that there are already at least 6 million undocumented aliens currently in the United States. roughly half of whomsome 3 millioncan be found in southern California alone. Moreover. according to INS estimates. the apprehensions of illegal aliens at the border in 1992 will exceed the 1986 record of 1.7 million. while at least 3.4 million illegals will get through to lose themselves In U.S. urban population centers. The costs of this Invasion to the taxpayers are enormous. One organization studying the problem conservatively places the nationwide direct costs at $5.4 billion. The California auditor general indicates that the annual net cost to the State Is $3 billion. A recent ofl.clal Los Angeles County study found that over 11 percent of its jail population consisted of Illegals. many of them repeat offenders who had been deported only to return to resume their criminal activities. The annual costs to local taxpayers of processing. trying. and incarcerating these deportable aliens is over $75 million. A similar study for San Diego. which also took Into account police enforcement and related costs. revealed costs of almost $106 million a year. Suffice it to say that State and local governments in border areas are being overwhelmed by the burden of providing additional benefits and services to persons who should not legally even be there.