Speech #1040192303

I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman. my amendment will close an immigration loophole opened 2 years ago by a rider to the fiscal year 1995 CommerceStateJustice appropriations bill. This loophole. which was put into the bill by Senator KENNEDY. rewards many illegal aliens who are in the United States illegally. Let me repeat that. This only deals with people who are in the United States illegally by allowing them to apply for permanent resident status and remain here while their applications are pending. That was the loophole that was put into that bill by Senator KENNEDY. While waiting for their applications to be adjudicated. these illegal aliens are considered PRUCOL. Persons Residing Under Color of Law. Those individuals that we are talking about are here illegally. but they are then eligible for several taxpayerfunded government benefits. This loophole also has serious repercussions for the security of our Nation. Under the Kennedy loophole. certain people who sneak across our border or illegally overstay their visas can apply for permanent resident status at the local INS office. That is right. right here in the United States. in their local communities. at the local INS office. Even these aliens who have flagrantly violated our immigration laws are now able to avoid an examination by the State Department officials in their home countries because they are applying to the INS here locally. In their home countries may be. however. the only place where information such as criminal records or terrorist activities can be found. Thus. the INS does not have the availability of that information when looking at this request. but the State Department would have had that information. Allowing these lawbreakers to apply for permanent status in the United States. rather than having to return to their home countries to do so. circumvents a screening process that has been carefully established to protect our countrys security. If the records are in their native countries. how can the INS employees whose job it is to look at this request thoroughly investigate the backgrounds of these illegal aliens? Last year I asked the General Accpunting Office to investigate the improt of this new law. During the first 5 months this loophole was in effect. nearly 80.000 illegal aliens used it to stay in the United States. INS officials anticipated that that number would double by. the end of 1995. This means that possibly as many as 160.000 illegal aliens now have access to public assistance benefits who otherwise would not have had access had this loophole not been snuck into the law. We must stretch even further our overstrained welfare system to cover these people who broke our law to come here in the first place. This new provision of law is an absolute travesty. To reward those who have consciously violated our immigration law is an insult not only to the citizens of this country but to those persons in foreign countries who have obeyed our laws and are now waiting in line for their turn. I hope Members will join the gentleman from Texas [Mr. SMITHJ and myself in supporting this amendment to close this loophole which rewards people who have flagrantly violated our laws. people who are here illegally. and also puts our country at a security risk.