Speech #1050100665

Mr. Speaker. on September 16. 1997. I introduced legislation to amend section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 by exempting Canadian nationals who are not otherwise required by law to possess a visa. passport. or bordercrossing identification card. This bill. H.R. 2481. now has 41 cosponsors who recognize the urgency of correcting the flaws in section 110. Section 110 of the 1996 Reform Act mandates that an automated entryexit system be established that would allow INS officers to match the entrance date with exit dates of legally admitted aliens. Congress included this section at the last minute during the HouseSenate conference of the bill with the intent of solving the problem of overstaying visa holdersaliens who enter the United States legally but overstay their allotted time. Because the U.S. does not have a departure management system to track who leaves the United States. a new entryexit system was thought to be the vehicle to solve the problem. In the rush to complete the bill before the end of the fiscal year on September 30. conferees did not have time to give this provision the scrutiny it deserves.