Mr. Chairman. the United States has always been a beacon of hope and opportunity for generations of people who come to our shores searching for what cannot be found in any other nation on Earth. Few of us here are not the heirs of Immigrant determination to make a better life for families and loved onesor to seek a safe haven from repression. Some of our colleagues in the House are themselves living proof that this Nation continues to be enriched by the strong immigrant community which Is our heritage. However. Mr. Chairman. today the people of the United States are faced with a new challenge from which we cannot back away--the challenge of illegal immigration. Illegal Immigration has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Each year our borders are flooded with many thousands of people who enter the United States undocumented. usually unskilled. often without the resources to provide for their own needs. Mr. Chairman. it Is currently estimated that there are between 2 and 4 million illegal Immigrants in the United States. with about 300.000 added to that number each year. I want to emphasize that these are estimatesthe numbers could be even larger than the estimates. According to a study by the Rand Institute. onehalf of all illegal immigrants enter the United States by crossing the land border. Many use fraudulent documents to derive benefits from social programs. thus depriving U.S. citizens. legal residents. and refugees who deserve these benefits and robbing taxpayers of millions of dollars. Twice this House has attempted to right this wrong. Twice President Clinton vetoed those attempts.
Identified stereotypes
Undocumented immigrants are usually unskilled and often without resources.