Speech #1100055868

In section 604. the drafters farther claim they resolve the problem by allowing law enforcement access to those who commit fraud or misrepresentations in their Z applications. But again. what is missing is law enforcements ability to reach thirdparty fraud: Where the alien. him or herself may not be complicit but to prosecute the third party. the Government needs the information from the Z application filed by such Individuals in order to make the case. Simply stated and summarized. fraud by third parties involved in a Z application. crimes that have not yet resulted in a conviction: absconderspeople who have ignored a valid court order and who have yet to be physically removedas well as those Z visa applicants who are denied on noncriminal grounds. all of those categories of information are rendered confidential and kept from law enforcement authorities when It comes to investigating crime and other wrongful conduct. As I said earlier today. in fact. if we were more interested in regaining the publics confidence that we were actually serious about passing an immigration law that could be and would be vigorously enforced. I dont think I would be up here offering this amendment because it would be agreed to without the necessity of a vote. But strangely. to me. this commonsense sort of amendment is being resisted. In a way. it helps merely confirm what most people across the countryparticularly in my Stateseem to suspect. which is that Congress cannot be trusted and is not serious about creating an immigration law system that can be adequately enforced. As my colleagues know. I offered a separate amendment that would categorically bar fugitive aliens from receiving the benefits under this bill. I believe this is an issue of fundamental fairness and integrity of the system. In exchange for what has been offered to this population. which is the largest legalization program in our Nations history. we should be able to say that for any person who applies for and receives benefits under this program. we will 53. Pt. 11 14793 authorize the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service to look at that application and to. if necessary. if warranted under law. arrest that individual who made that application and deport them. in accordance with our laws that Congress has already passed. But the bill the Senate is considering today turns a blind eye to those who apply for the benefits under this bill and are denied. This bill would allow them simply to slide back into the shadowsthe precise problem we are being told we are trying to fix. 1 daresay if you ask a random taxpayer on the street this simple question: Assume an alien comes forward to apply for legal status under this bill. Because the applicant doesnt satisfy one of the criteria for being awarded legal status. the applicant is denied benefits under the bill. What happens to that individual under the Senate immigration bill? If you were to ask that question to a man or woman on the street. I bet you that 100 out of 100 times people would say: Well. they ought to go home. they ought not to be granted benefits under the bill. Certainly. they would say you ought not to hide evidence of fraud or criminality or wrongdoing that could be investigated and prosecuted. Yet the socalled confidentiality provisions my amendment addresses. under the current bill. would prevent law enforcement officials from using information on the application to locate and remove a significant population of those who dont qualify for legalization but have applied for it. To be clear. this is for individuals who have actually applied for a Z visa. or benefits under the program. and have been denied. not those whose Z visa status has been granted. This is. in essence. providing an opportunityto significant categories of individuals whose applications are considered and rejectedto slide back into the shadows. which is the very problem we are told this solution is designed to solve. The whole point of this exercise. we continue to be told. is to enhance U.S. security by bringing people out of the shadows. But this bill would draw people out. only to allow them to slide back in if they demonstrate they are disqualified for the benefits under the billthe very people we ought to be focusing on and having deported in accordance with our laws. I remind my colleagues of our Nations recent history with mass legalization and the consequences of prohibitions on Federal agencies sharing information. As I have stated. reasonable observers have concluded that the 1986 amnesty was rife with fraud. That is the conclusion of the New York Times in the article that will be part of this record. dated November 12. 1989. The title is "Migrants False Claims: Fraud on a Huge Scale." We also note. for example. from the 9/ 11 Commission staff statements. that Mohamed and Mahmud Abouhalima. conspirators in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. were granted green cards. or legal permanent resident status. under the Special Agricultural Workers Program. which was an amnesty program created by the 1986 bill. Under this Special Agricultural Workers Program. a key component of the 1986 amnesty. these applicants had to provide evidence they had worked on perishable crops for at least 90 days between May 1. 1985. and May 1. 1986. their residence did not have to be "continuous" or "unlawful." Nearly 1 million illegal aliens received legal permanent resident status under this amnesty-"twice the number of foreigners normally employed in agriculture" at that time. according to the 9/11 Commission staff statements. In other words. the inference is inescapable that there was fraud on a huge scale. based on the very kind of confidentiality provisions this bill includes and which my amendment would remove. I wish to make one other point about this illconceived confidentiality provision.