Speech #1030016495

Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to rise today. along with my colleague BILL MCCOLLUM. as an original cosponsor. of the Criminal Aliens Deportation Act of 1993. The problem of criminal aliens crowding our prisons. especially on the State and local level. grows worse each day. We need to place a much greater emphasis on efforts to Identify. apprehend. and remove criminal aliens from the United States. particularly those involved in drugrelated or violent criminal activity. The purpose of our legislation Is to set up procedures to deport criminal aliens from the United States as expeditiously as possible. Our proposal will streamline the deportation process in two general respects. First. it will expand the most serious class of Federal and State crimesknown as aggravated feloniesfor which an alien may be expeditiously deported. Second. the proposal will ensure that aliens convicted of aggravated felonies are deported as quickly as possible upon completion of their sentence. In the case of permanent resident aliens convicted in Federal court. a final deportation order could be issued at an aliens criminal sentencing hearing. For all other aggravated felon aliens. an administratively final deportation order could be issued by the Attorney General. obviating an unnecessary and burdensome administrative hearing process. Judicial review for both categories of aggravated felon aliens would remain. Our proposal will also increase the current penalties against the following classes of aliens: First. those who have been formally deported but who reenter the country without permission. and second. those aliens who have received a final. unappealable order of deportation. but who have failed to depart the country within the required period of time. These toughened penalties are designed to deter illegal aliens who are repeat offenders. The Criminal Aliens Deportation Act of 1993 will not increase our current deficit and meets the payasyougo requirements of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. The problems in California with respect to criminal aliens have become insurmountable. California Is incurring heavy costs associated with incarcerating criminal aliens in State correctional facilities. There are more than 15.000 undocumented aliens in our States prison system. at an annual cost of about $330 million. Federal law currently requires the INS to take custody of. and begin deportation proceedings against. undocumented aliens who have been convicted of violent felonies and who have served their minimum sentences. making them eligible for early release into supervised custody. Unfortunately. this procedure has slipped through the cracks. and there has been a lack of cooperation between local and Federal authorities. allowing Illegals to be released to the streets rather than to INS officials for deportation proceedings. One of the major flaws in our current deportation process Is that the INS lacks sufficient detention space. therefore the alien is paroled Into the community with instructions to report several months later for a hearing before an INS officer. Most of these aliens simply disappear and end up back in our State penal system a few months later. In Los Angeles County. more than half of incarcerated illegal aliens are rearrested within 1 year. According to the GAO. less than 2 percent of the estimated 1 to 2 million deportable aliens are sent out of our country each year. More than 41.000 foreign born criminals are now incarcerated in State prisons. and nearly 20 percent of the total prison population is deportable. California is 185 percent over capacity in its prison population and houses approximately 15.000 illegals at a cost of $21.000 per year per inmate. The 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act included a provision to reimburse States for costs Incurred for the Imprisonment of any illegal alien convicted of a felony. Governor Wilson Is requesting a Federal reimbursement of $250 million in fiscal year 199394 to pay for the cost of keeping criminals illegally residing In California in the correctional system. The illegal immigration policy In this Nation rests in the hands of the Federal Government and carries with it a financial obligation to pay for services that are mandated by Federal Government policies. The failure of our Federal Government to shoulder its responsibility In this area continuously results in deportable criminal aliens being released on bond with the assumption they will appear for a deportation hearing at a later date. Instead. they descend upon our streets. where they continue to contribute to our Nations drug and violent crime epidemic. Mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to support this proposal and the House to adopt the Criminal Aliens Deportation Act of 1993.