Speech #1030071863

There is no reason why. in 1093. a Social Security card cannot be as easily verified as a credit card or an ATM card. In a society increasingly dependent on technology. it is simply unrealistic not to employ technological means to ensure that only those people who are legally entitled to work and collect benefits in the United States actually do. The most humane and effective means of controlling largescale illegal immigration is deterrence. If people around the world become convinced that the United States is serious about enforcing its immigration laws and that stealing into this country will not be rewarded. many potential illegal immigrants will make the very rational decision not to try to come to the United States by illegal means. This will increase the capability of the Border Patrol to apprehend those who attempt to come here illegally anyway. Reducing the ratio of illegal border crossers to Border Patrol agents would enhance the probability of apprehension. That. in itself. would provide one more layer of deterrence. Finally. the legislation I am introducing would take strong measures to deal with the abuse of this countrys humanitarianism. The past several months have presented numerous and vivid illustrations of how our political asylum laws are being blatantly abused by people seeking to evade our Immigration laws and even by organized criminals seeking to steal. cheat. and intimidate. Perhaps no other abuse of our immigration policy has raised the hackles of the American public like those blatant abuses of our immigration standards. The abuse must be ended. At its best. political asylum today has been turned into a means by which a small number of people can jump ahead of 18 million refugees worldwide to enter the United States. The bill I am introducing would eliminate the incentives to abuse our Nations political asylum process by ensuring the quick and certain exclusion of those filing patently bogus claims of political asylum. The current system has simply been overwhelmed. Some 275.000 cases are backlogged and the backlog is growing at a rate of 100.000 a year. It has become such an inviting target for abuse that more than half of all applicants never even bother to appear for their scheduled hearings. Even the generous spirit of the American people can be strained to the breaking point when they realize that they are being played for suckers. In summation. it is time for the United States to adopt an immigration policy. It is no wonder that from the cover of this weeks issue of Newsweek. to the pages of every major newspaper and magazine. to the Nations airwaves we are hearing reports of growing dissatisfaction with the way immigration is being handled. Its time to listen to what the American people are saying about immigration. The comprehensive proposal I am submitting calls for an overall set of objectives and a plan for achieving them. It is an opportunity to open a national debate on what Is becoming Increasingly acknowledged as one of the most critical issues ever to face our country. Patches on the blanket wont do anymore. What we need is a new blanket. In the coming weeks and months I will be addressing specific aspects of the immigration issues in more detail on the floor of the Senate. It is an issue that will affect virtually every aspect of life in the United States and every aspect of business conducted here in Congress. One thing seems certain: We cannot go on indefinitely adding the equivalent of the population of the State of Nevada every year to our national population base. The time has come for the United States to have an immigration policy. Mr. President.