Speech #1040119667

My amendment is well crafted to only deny illegals the benefit of Federal support and specifically defines who is a person lawfully present within the United States. My amendment also provides for a number of exemptions. Federal funds could be provided to illegal aliens for emergency medical services. disaster relief. school lunches. child nutrition and immunization. Sick people would not be turned away at the hospital emergency rooms. nor would the public health be threatened by a communicable disease. We must draw the line and say that illegal aliens should not be receiving scarce resources except for true emergencies and public health concerns. Also. States would not be obligated to provide benefits to those not lawfully present in our country. Following the publishing of the rules by the Attorney General. the States would have 2 years to comply with the verification requirements. and necessary funds would be authorized. It should be noted that the longawaited report of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform. headed by former Representative Barbara Jordan. has generally recommended that illegal aliens not receive publicly funded services or assistance. Mr. President. it is true that many Federal programs specifically exclude by statute illegal aliens in their criteria for eligibility. but in many cases the benefits continue to flow to these illegal aliens due to the expansive and misguided agency regulations and court interpretation. Many Federal programs allow benefits to go to aliens permanently residing in the United States under color of law. However. this category is not defined by statute. and the categories of aliens it covers vary from program to program because various court decisions have defined it differently. I am sure that my fellow colleagues are well aware of the published growing concern with our countrys haphazard immigration policy and porous border. I believe this debate over welfare reform provides us with a golden opportunity to create a new and more coherent policy regarding immigrants and to stop. once and for all. the payment of benefits to illegal aliens. The Senate appears ready to give the States more flexibility and responsibility to oversee Federal programs. I think it is only fair that in exchange for the increased flexibility and discretion. the Federal Government should ask the States to stand with us in verifying immigrant status and help identify illegal aliens. With the assistance of the States in the verification process. few illegals will receive benefits. And both Federal and State budgets will reflect those savings. It is the simple fact that a deported alien will not be available to collect welfare benefits that are desperately needed by many of our citizens. Mr. President. in my opinion. the Federal Government and the States have been working at crosspurposes in enforcing our immigration laws. The States have decried the inability of the Federal Government to police our borders. Yet when Congress proposes dropping the payment of benefits to illegal aliens. the States complain that they will be saddled with the full cost of providing these services. It is only reasonable to require States to verify the status of applicants provided we help give them the resources to do the job. By allowing States to deny benefits to these not lawfully present and providing funds for States to set up verification systems. my amendment is actually a fully funded mandate. I believe we must do more regarding immigration reform itself. I feel strongly that deportation proceedings should be expedited. and there needs to be greater enforcement when holders of temporary visas intentionally overstay their visit. I also believe that there needs to be a stricter enforcement of sponsor affidavits and the deeming provision to ensure that immigrants will not be a burden to taxpayers. Efforts to provide better border patrols and to attack asylum abuse are also needed. The widespread abuse of identification cards by illegal aliens is a major problem. The production of false resident alien cards. drivers licenses. and Social Security cards is a multimillion dollar national crime which only aids illegal aliens receiving Government benefits. It must be stopped. The word is out. if you want to receive welfare benefits more generous than any. come to America. Do not even bother to enter legally. By allowing the payment of benefits to illegal aliens. we have become a magnet. In the past. immigrants came to America to work hard and prosper under freedom. but today too many are coming to receive the free ride. Finally. and in closing. Mr.