Speech #1100060115

I want to thank the gentleman from North Carolina for the time and for the opportunity to discuss an important issue to me. With every passing day. I hear more talk about how to prevent illegal immigration. Were discussing it at this very moment. Many proposals to deal with undocumented immigrants involve punishing them through deportation or what has been termed as "touchback." which requires immigrants to expel themselves and pay a heavy. extremely punitive fine. However. we could best reduce the number of undocumented immigrants by improving and reforming our own government bureaucracy. While many Members of this body believe that every undocumented immigrant walked across the southern border. the fact is that 40 percent of them enter our country legally. and many of them have only broken the law after falling through the cracks of a vast bureaucracy. Back home in Brooklyn. New York. an area that boasts immigrants from every corner of the world. I have personally talked to countless people who were frustrated because they had no intention of breaking the law. but simply became tied up in an overly complicated and backlogged system as their applications were delayed until their visas expired and suddenly they were here illegally. Im further concerned with the proposed fee increases at CIS to process applications. All of the people who emigrate here from other countries have come looking for a better life. Many of these people work hard at jobs that pay so little that most Americans do not want to take them. We cannot expect these individuals to pay astronomical fees that they cannot afford. as this effectively creates another barrier to citizenship for many immigrants who only want to make an honest living. and leaves those who cannot pay in undocumented limbo. We in Congress must ensure that CIS has the funding it requires to be efficient and effective without resorting to taking money from those who cannot afford the extremely punitive costs. As the debate on immigration reform progresses. it is vital that we address these issues and ensure that CIS will be able to help everyone who desires to play by. and be in compliance with. the rules. It is simply not right that many people have been deemed criminals simply because our government is illequipped to process these applications or because we have made it totally unaffordable. I thank the gentleman from North Carolina for his efforts at improving the legal immigration process. and I look forward to working together to bring about improvements and reforms to an immigration system that is reflective of the 21st century United States.