Speech #1040176894

I want to address the House on a problem we are having in Florida and we are having all across the Nation. Last evening we had a chance to hear the President deliver his speech on the future of America. One of the things he emphasized was on changing and enforcing immigration procedures in our country. It is ironic that this past week the Immigration and Naturalization Service announced that is was taking eight Border Patrol agents from Florida and moving them to the southwest border of the United States. Clearly I know that we are having extraordinary problems on the borders of Mexico. but Florida also is being inundated by illegal immigrants. What has happened with our Border Patrol has been a diminishing from 85 agents in 1988 to half that strength of 42 agents today. after these agents are detailed to the southwest border. In my home district. the Palm Beach Border Patrol Office will shrink to just three agents and one supervisor who are responsible for covering eight counties and 120 miles of coastline. At the same time. the number of Border Patrol and Coast Guard interceptions of Cubans and Haitians for the first 2 months of 1996 fiscal year. 1.248 interceptions. is almost as high as the total number of interceptions for the entire 1995 fiscal year. which totaled 1.789 interceptions-.248 in 2 months. 1.789 during the whole fiscal year of 1995. Just yesterday Border Patrol agents arrested eight illegals who were working at a school construction site in West Palm Beach. FL. The total number of criminal alien apprehensions in the Miami sector last year totaled 1.857 people. criminal alien apprehensions in the Miami sector. These statistics clearly demonstrate the critical need for a stronger Border Patrol force in Florida. so it amazes me that the INS apparently ignores this data making policy decisions. I fully support a strong Border Patrol force for the entire United States. but not by slashing the number of Florida agents. I had a chance to go out with the gentleman from California. Mr.