Others flee with fraudulent documents. The summary exclusion provisions in the underlying bill had the potential of excluding these people if they failed to convince an INS border officer that they have a credible fear of persecution. I can undersatand the concern that our asylum laws have been abused in the past. But we have taken steps to reform the asylum system. In 1995. our asylum system was tightened and adequate resources have been invested to root out these abuses. This effort has been successful. 90 percent of claims are now adjudicated within 60 days of their receipt. There has been a drastic decline in new asylum applications. from 13.000 per month at the end of 1994 to 3.000 per month currently. One reason for this is that asylum seekers are no longer automatically eligible for work authorization. As a result of the reforms. our asylum system now works to ensure that legitimate asylum seekers are protected and those who file fraudulent claims are weeded out. We have a tradition in this country of protecting bona fide refugees. We have an asylum system that is working well to continue this tradition. The provisions included in the underlying bill would have undermined our good efforts to the detriment of the very people we are seeking to protect.
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asylum applications refugees asylum seekers asylum laws