Mr. Speaker. I intended to offer an amendment to the crime bill to give law enforcement officers access to legalization immigration files during a criminal investigation. In the 1986 immigration law. thousands of illegal immigrants were given an opportunity to apply for legal status. To encourage as many illegal immigrants as possible to apply. a confidentiality clause was added to the legalization applications. This clause has prevented law enforcement agencies from gaining access to legalization applications even as part of a criminal investigation. When a crazed gunman randomly killed two innocent people outside CIA headquarters earlier this year. the FBI couldnt get access to the suspects legalization application on file with the INS. even for something as simple as a photo.
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