Speech #1040228029

Mr. Speaker. the Immigration and Naturalization Service [INS]. created by Congress over a hundred years agoMarch 3. 1891has been charged with the responsibility of providing services under the Immigration and Nationality Act. which among other things includes providing assistance to individuals seeking naturalizationthe process by which eligible immigrants become U.S. citizens. Therefore. INS is appropriately involved in the citizenship process as an integral part and I believe that Commissioner Meissner has made significant progress in reducing the extensive processing backlogs for prospective new citizens as interest in naturalization has increased substantially during her term as commissioner. Although I cannot speak for other portions of the country. in Miami INS has done a commendable job of moving applicants through the citizenship process expeditiously. As a part critic of INSs failure to process applications on a timely basis. I have been encouraged by the important headway INS has made in reducing the average time for completing an application. Naturalization applications have severely outpaced the capacity of INSfrom just over 200.000 in 1983 to over a million in 1955. and thousands of applications had been accumulating in Miami with a mere 22 personnel to process them. To respond to this unacceptable situation. using its own fee revenue. INS has added 158 naturalization personnel to the Miami District staff this year to handle the steadily increasing volume of citizenship applications. In the first half of this year. thanks to the additional staffing provided by Commissioner Meissner. the Miami district has been able to complete close to 30.000 N400 applicationsthe standard naturalization formwhich is over 1.000 more than the Miami district completed in the entire year for 1995. I have been pleased with this progress and commend Commissioner Meissners hard work to ensure that naturalization is given the priority it merits. Through its Citizenship USA project. INS is meeting on a monthly basis in Miami with local organizations to improve community outreach. Groups such as One Nation. the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc. [CLINIC]. Dade County Schools and the Hispanic Coalition have worked with volunteers and local officials to help the INS facilitate its citizenship activities. To be eligible for citizenship. an immigrant must be a legal permanent resident for at least 5 yearsthree if married to a U.S. citizenexhibit good moral character and understanding of constitutional principles. demonstrate a knowledge of U.S. history/civics and basis Englishunless exempted for age or disabilityand must pay an application fee of S95 which funds the INS process of examining each case. Thus. naturalization is not an automatic step for every immigrant. and those individuals who have gone to the trouble and effort of playing by the rules and have demonstrated their dedication and desire to be a U.S. citizen deserve the opportunity to be processed on a timely. efficient basis by INS. Although there have been enormous backlogs in the past. I believe that Commissioner Meissner is taking important steps toward helping immigrants naturalize and take full advantage of citizenship in these great United States.