Speech #1030082701

It is not just California. The public hospitals in Texas have become the equivalent of the family doctor for thousands of people who live on the other side of the border in Mexico. In 48 of 50 States. illegal aliens can get a drivers license. the de facto ID document in this country. without having to prove that they are legally in this country in the first place. If you think this is no big deal. think again. Mohammed Salameh. an illegal alien and the alleged driver of the bombladen truck that blew up the World Trade Center. happened to live in New Jerseyillegally. of course--one of the two States that actually bothers to require proof of legal residence. So he crossed the Hudson River and got himself a drivers license in New Yorkvery simple. He was not a legal resident of the United States. He was not a resident of New York legally or New Jersey or any State. But the State of New York handed him that vital document needed to live and work. not to mention rent a truck that he could place explosives on. with no questions asked and no proof required. And we wonder in this country why we have an illegal immigration problem. If making it easy to be an illegal alien is not enough. how about offering a reward for being an illegal immigrant? No sane country would do that. right? Guess again. If you break our laws by entering this country without permission and give birth to a child. we reward that child with U.S. citizenship and guarantee full access to all public and social services this society provides. And that is a lot of services. Is it any wonder that twothirds of the babies born at taxpayer expense in countyrun hospitals in Los Angeles are born to illegal alien mothers? Just when the American people think nothing can be more absurd than the way we dealor rather do not dealwith illegal immigration. they discover we have a political asylum system that would qualify us for Senator Proxmires Golden Fleece Award 1.000 times over. I do not know why he did not make this award. he should have. Last year more than 100.000 people showed up in this country. landing at our airports. washing up on our shores in leaky boats. crossing our borders illegally. overstaying their visas. saying two magic words. "political asylum." and virtually assuring themselves of being allowed into the United States forever. Anyone. no matter how specious the claim. can utter those words and usually within a matter of hours be released on their own recognizance onto the streets of our country with a promise that they will show up for a hearing 18 months later. Can anyone really say they are surprised that the vast majority of asylum applicants never ever show up for these hearings? I wish the statements I have been making were some kind of a nightmare or dream. an aberration. But they are true.