Speech #1030008981

Mr. Speaker. America Is a land of Immigrants. Our proud cultural heritage and democratic traditions are the product of a rich blend of peoples gathering here from all over the world. In my native California. our way of life has been enhanced by the influx of Latinos. Asians. and other foreign Immigrants who have settled there. The enactment of major immigration reforms in recent years attests to our continuing strong commitment to equal opportunity and our belief that newcomers legally entering our shores will benefit Americas economic. social. and cultural future. Immigration. however. is not always a positive force for our country. In spite of recent changes in the immigration law and steppedup efforts to police the border and arrest undocumented aliens. the problem of illegal immigration is a serious one throughout southern California and the border States. as well as in many other areas throughout this country. After several years of decline. largely as a consequence of the ban on hiring illegal aliens and stiff penalties on employers who flout the provisions of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. the number of arrests of Illegals is rising to the pre1986 level of 1.7 million a year. INS officials have told me there may be as many as 3 million undocumented aliens residing in southern California alone. To this number must be added some 2 to 3 millions of new illegal immigrants annually. What America is facing today Is a crisis. as the flood of illegal aliens continues virtually unchecked. No one knows for sure how many undocumented aliens are now residing in this country. but the problems generated by these uncounted. unwanted millions of pe3ple are legion. Consider these facts: According to a study by the Center for Immigration Studies. illegal aliens cost U.S. taxpayers at least $5.4 billion nationwide in direct benefits. That study did not even include such abused Government programs as Social Security. Medicare. food stamps. and unemployment compensation. Nor did it include the extra costs for police. fire. courts. parks. and transportation services that are spent on illegal aliens. When those major costs are included. the total bill to the taxpayers skyrockets. The center has informed my staff that they are revising these figures upward because their cost estimates were far too low. A 1983 INS study showed that taxpayers paid out about $13.5 billion a year in benefits for Illetials including an estimated $9 billion in jrb displacement costs. Although many undocumented aliens are able to find lowpaying jobs. despite employer sanctions. and so pay taxes. they do not contribute to the system as much as or more than they use in government benefits and social services. In Los Angeles County alone. according to an official 1991 study. the net cost to taxpayers was $276.7 million in 199091almost $70 million. or a 34percent increase. over 198990. A November 1992 report prepared for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors studied the fiscal impact of the countys immigrant population during fiscal year 199192. An estimated 700.000 illegal immigrants accounted for $308.4 million in local taxes and fees for services. Still. the report showed thal these illegals paid an additional $777 million in State and Federal taxes. Illegal aliens and their Americanborn childrenanother 250.000 personscost the county education s cstem $1.4 billion each year. A recent State auditor generals report for San Diego County e3timates that 200.000 illegal immigrants cost the taxpayers of that county a whopping $146 million annually$206 million total minus taxes paid in to the countyin local government services. including $105.7 million to the criminal justice system alone. Illegal aliens enjoy generous taxpayersupported health care benefits. In California these include indigent medical care at certain clinics. Medicaid and MediCalfunded emergency and pregnancy services. and ambulance and paramedical services. The annual price tag for delivery of these health services to Illegal immigrants in San Diego County is $26.6 million. Health services to illegals cost Los Angeles taxpayers over $200 million a year. During 199091. twothirds of all babies delivered free of charge in countyoperated hospitals in Los Angeles were born to illegals. Little wonder. then. that in a 1992 Roper poll. 86 percent of Americans said that Illegal immigration is an Important issue. Many cities and towns are being overrun with immigrants. both legal and undocumented. who pose additional economic and law enforcement problems. Congregating groups of outofwork undocumented day laborers seeking temporary or nonexistent jobs in suburban communities have created public disturbances. disrupted small businesses. jammed traffic. and. in some instances. endangered the physical safety of women and children. Many illegal aliens. unable to find work In this country. resort to crime. Many illegals are involved in drug trafficking across the border and violent gang activities In our communities. posing a major threat to families and neighborhoods and straining the capacities of immigration authorities and local law enforcement. A recent official study of Los Angeles Countys criminal justice system showed that. during a 12month period. over 11 percent of the criminals in county jails are deportable aliens. many of them repeat offenders who. once deported. return to this country illegally to become once more involved In criminal activities. Processing. trying. and Incarcerating these aliens cost county taxpayers at least $75.1 million a year. Of 1.875 identified deportable aliens who were tracked during a 1year period. over half were returned to their native lands. voluntarily or through deportation. but more than 41 percent were later rearrested during the 12 months following their initial release. These 772 defendants were arrested a total of 1.522 times during the year. In all. these criminal aliens had been arrested almost 11.000 times. some dating back to 1958. Other illegals place themselves on the welfare rolls. largely through the use of fraudulent documents. which they can purchase for a few dollars on any street corner. further burdening community facilities and depleting already strained county resources. According to the Los Angeles Times. some 362.000 undocumented aliens receive an estimated $240 million a year in welfare payments from the State. According to the auditor generals study. there were about 4.000 aid to families with dependent children [AFDC] cases involving illegal aliens in San Diego County. costing $11.7 million annually. The illegal alien problem is essentially economic. If conditions of poverty were improved south of the border and jobs were more plentiful or were not available In the United States. there probably would not be a crisis today in many States. It may be that the North American FreeTrade Agreement negotiated by the Bush administration will help to stimulate the economy of Mexico and improve United States trade with that country. thereby creating more jobs in both countries and lessening the pressure for aliens to seek employment in the Uniled States. There is no question that the Immigration and Naturalization Service [INS] lacks the resources necessary to perform its job properly. Employer sanctions are working. but they are no panacea. Undocumented aliens will continue to cross our borders illegally in search of jobs. and some employers will flout the law to take advantage of cheap labor. or make no real effort to check documents. hoping that the shortstaffed INS will overlook them. Moreover. State and local agencies usually do not ask questions about citizenship. and Federal bureaucrats sometimes are sloppy in their processing. To make matters worse. In some communities official agencies. including law enforcement. refuse to cooperate with the INS. by reporting on illegal alien activities or turning In arrested undocumented offenders. In spite of Federal budgetary constraints. I still do not understand the consistent opposition of many of my colleagues to voting to provide adequate funding so that the Border Patrol can stop the flood of illegal aliens crossing our borders and the INS can round up those undocumented immigrants who get through. The easy availability of forged birth certificates. drivers licenses. Social Security cards. and other documents contributes to this crisis. enabling illegal immigrants to drop out of sight In many American cities and to steal jobs end benefits at the expense of citizen workers and taxpayers. Employer sanctions cannot be fully effective so long as document fraud persists. Although undocumented aliens are entitled only to emergency and pregnancy care by statute and to free education. according to one Supreme Court decision in a Texas case. provided they reside in the State. the truth is they are able to obtain unemployment benefits. food stamps. AFDC. medical care. public housing. and welfare assistance unlawfullyfree benefits and services far more generous and more accessible here than in their home countries. Local communities and taxpayers have a difficult enough task taking adequate care of their own poor and needy legal residents without the added burden of providing welfare to illegals. The tragedy of this terrible crisis is the emerging social cost. No one knows exactly how many illegal aliens were involved in the Los Angeles riots that followed the Rodney King verdict. but early reports indicated that perhaps onethird of those arrested were recent immigrants. The problem is that. in contrast to earlier waves of lawful Immigration. a large number of those undocumented aliens who have entered illegally in recent years and have remained In this country have failed to integrate into American society. Unlike previous generations of immigrants. they do not settle down. find jobs. send their children to public schools. learn English. and become members of our great melting pot. Instead. they live apart in ghettos and barrios. retaining their native languages and customs. refusing to speak English. and demanding bilingual schooling and bicultural studies for their kids. Many of their offspring join criminal gangs as a means of retaining ethnic and cultural Identity.