We are creating a new entity in this country which we just do not need. If the charge against this bill is that it is too bureaucratic. then the concept which we are considering on the floor at this time becomes a selffulfilling prophecy. If every young person in the country is out there as a deputized immigration officer. then the net effect of this program will be to nullify exactly what it is that we have intended this program to represent in terms of community service. Who will identify the illegal aliens in the community? Would those volunteers cleaning up a local park be permitted to do so if the park was frequented by illegal aliens? Would volunteers working to immunize children be prevented from treating suspected illegal aliens? The requirement to report illegal aliens to the INS would be timeconsuming. bureaucratic. and turn the National Service Program into an enforcement agency. not a volunteer agency. There is no question that we have serious immigration problems in this country. However. the National Service Program should not take the place of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. If we want to beef up that part of f*:e Federal Government. let us do so d.actly. Let us not take a program which was intended to serve a completely different purpose and turn all of these young people into vigilantes out on the immigration beat. My hope here is that there will be a repudiation of this concept. that the amendment as a substitute will be rejected. and that we continue to focus on what is the main objective of this program. which is to integrate fully into the totality of the communities of this country. regardless of who populates them. these young people.
Keywords matched
Immigration Naturalization illegal aliens immigration