Speech #1100055868

In addition to questions of why we would want to put out of bounds to law enforcement agencies information which they could use to investigate and identify fraud and criminal conduct. you might ask: Why the double standard? For example. we dont afford these kinds of robust confidentiality provisions for other classes of immigrants such as asylees or battered women or those who fall under the temporary protected status provisions. So why would we have a double standard? When an asylum seeker applies for legal status. that asylum seeker must submit an application and return at a later date for the decision. If that asylum seekers application is denied. then he or she is taken into custody on the spot. based on information contained in the application. Now. the proponents of this bill will tell us that without these guarantees of confidentiality. those who are already here in the country in violation of our immigration laws will not come forward and seek the benefits of the Z visa provided for under the bill. which leads me to ask: Arent we granting the biggest benefit that can ever be given to anybody in the worldlegal status and a path to American citizenshipeven though these individuals have violated our laws? And to be clear. we are talking about those who cannot even establish that they meet the minimum requirements to get this valuable benefit. Even worse. they have continually flouted our immigration and criminal laws. Why would we consciously give these individuals broad privacy protections by the mere filing of their application for Z status. and why would they be treated differently from other immigrants? The proponents say they do exempt from confidentiality those who commit fraud or are a part of some other scheme in connection with their application. Of course. that is the very least we should do. But this bill does not go nearly far enough to effectively enforce our immigration laws and protect the American people from those who could and would and might do us harm. For example. on page 311 of the bill. in section 604(b) labeled "Exceptions to Confidentiality." the drafters of this bill have chosen to protect aliens who are criminal absconders who have not been removed from the United States. that is. people who are under orders of deportation but who have not yet been removed. This is. in fact. a felony offense under 8 U.S.C. 1253. which is punishable for up to 4 years in prison. Yet the underlying bill would provide confidentiality for that individual. We all know that hundreds of thousands of individuals come across our borders each year in violation of our immigration laws. But what most Americans would be shocked to realize is that. according to recent estimates. almost 700.000 aliens who have immigrated illegally or overstayed who have been ordered deported have simply failed to comply with that court order. How many Americans think that it Is OK to ignore a court order? How many Americans. after receiving a subpoena from a court. ignore it and simply skip that court date?