Speech #1040206057

Mr. President. I rise in strong support of H.R. 2202. the Immigration Control and Financial Responsibility Act of 1996. It has been said before. but it bears repeating that as a nation we must close the back door to illegal immigration if the front door of legal immigration is to remain open. This landmark legislation represents a major step toward that goal. Mr. President. as passed by the Senate. H.R. 2202 significantly augments the Nations Border Patrol. The bill also provides the Department of Justice with important new legal tools to fight alien smuggling and document fraud. In addition. H.R. 2202 enhances the ability of the Justice Department to secure the prompt deportation of criminal aliens. Equally important. H.R. 2202 protects the taxpayers by taking numerous steps to assure that legal immigrants come to the United States to work. not to go on welfare. The one major provision of H.R. 2202 with which I disagree is the one that establishes pilot programs for various systems to verify the employment eligibility of new workers. Some have called this part of this bill the beginning of an eventual "national Identification system" or "national identification card." I share this concern. During the Senates consideration of this illegal immigration bill. therefore. I voted to support the AbrahamFeingold amendment to strike the national identification pilot programs provisions from the legislation. On balance. though. H.R. 2202 is a strong bill. It will strike a powerful blow against illegal immigration. In the majestic words of the poet Emma Lazarus. America still lifts her "lamp beside the Golden Door" for legal immigrants. With this bill. however. we are now moving to put a new padlock on the back door to keep out those who seek to violate our laws against illegal immigration.