Speech #1140001956

One excuse after the other has slowed this down. and it is not acceptable. We have to do better. In fact. the administration has suspended enforcement of the visa system almost entirely. We have to understand. colleagues: If we dont have even an exit visa system where we know who left the country. how do we know who overstayed and who stayed in the country? Unless somebody overstays their visa and they are caught for speeding and the police officer identified that. I will ask colleagues. what happens? Under the policy of this President of the United States directed to the lowest officers in America. nothing happens. If the individual does not commit a serious felony. they will not be processed for deportation. even though they have come to the country on a promise to leave on a certain date and flatly refused to do so. This is not acceptable. If we dont have a system that has integrity. then everybody gets the message pretty soon: Just get a visa. come to America. you never have to leave. If you dont get a felony charge against you. you are never going to be deported. This is the policy of this government at this very moment. It is hard for anybody to believe. but that is the truth. We have approximately 5 million visa overstays in the United States. But as the National ICEImmigration Customs Enforcementofficers Council president Chris Crane has explained: ICE agents are now prohibited from arresting illegal aliens solely on charges of illegal entry or visa overstay. What a dramatic statement that is. And not only visa overstays. they are prohibited from arresting and removing people who came across the border illegally. That is what he means by illegal entry or visa overstays. This of course removes a cornerstone of integrity in any law system. If we cant look people in the eye and say: We give you a visa. you have a 6month visa. but at 6 months you have to return to your home country. and mean it. and say: Eventually you will be apprehended and deported if you dontthen the system has no integrity. That is where we are today. Unsurprisingly. ABC News reported that the Obama administration had lost track of 6.000 foreign students who had overstayed their visas and were of "heightened concern." In other words. these 6.000 had some special concern in their background that made us worry about them. whether it was drugs or terrorism or whatever. Of course they have lost sight of them. They are not attempting to find them. So the head of the union representing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers. one of the three major components of the Department of Homeland Security dealing with immigration. Mr. Ken Palinkas. was explicit in his warning to us. It is remarkable what Mr. Crane has said and now what Mr. Palinkas has said: There is no doubt that there are already many individuals in the United States. on visas -expired or active who are being targeted for radicalization or who already subscribe to radicalized views. Many millions come legally to the U.S. through our wide open immigration policy every year whether as temporary visitors. lifetime immigrants. refugees. asylumseekers. foreign students. or recipients of our "visa waiver program" which allows people to come and go freely. Yet our government cannot effectively track these foreign visitors and immigrants. This is the man whose officers do this job. They are the ones who approve the visas and manage this system. He went on to warn that the Presidents socalled Executive amnesty would make the situation radically worse. saying: I write today to warn the general public that this situation is about to get exponentially worseand more dangerous. . . . Express your concern to your Senators and Congressmen before it is too late.