[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 28 (Monday, February 13, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E330]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


          CRIMINAL ALIEN DEPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS ACT OF 1995

                                 ______


                               speech of

                          HON. LAMAR S. SMITH

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 10, 1995

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 668) to 
     control crime by further streamlining deportation of criminal 
     aliens:

  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I would like to enter into the 
Record my strong support of H.R. 668, the Criminal Alien Deportation 
Improvements Act of 1995.
  The escalation of crime is robbing Americans of the freedom to walk 
their neighborhood streets, the right to feel secure in their homes, 
and the ability to feel confident that their children are safe in their 
schools.
  An increasing amount of crime is being committed by noncitizens: both 
legal and illegal aliens. About 25 percent of all Federal prisoners are 
foreign-born. An astounding 42 percent of all Federal prisoners in my 
State of Texas are foreign-born. Recidivism rates for criminal aliens 
are high--a recent GAO study revealed that 77 percent of noncitizens 
convicted of felonies go on to be arrested at least one more time.
  The Bureau of Prisons estimates that over 75 percent of noncitizen 
inmates are confined for drug law violations. Drug law violations are 
serious and these criminals should be required to serve their full 
sentences. Because of the porous nature of the border, drug traffickers 
who are deported before the completion of their sentences often come 
back across the border into the United States.
  The Criminal Alien Improvements Act of 1995 further expedites the 
deportation of criminal aliens after they have served their sentences. 
The act contains many of the provisions I sought in an amendment to 
last year's crime bill and I thank the bill's authors for including 
those.
  This bill increases the list of aggravated felonies for which an 
alien can be deported. Transportation for the purposes of prostitution, 
smuggling aliens, counterfeiting, trafficking in stolen vehicles, and 
bribery of a witness are all very serious crimes. Aliens who commit 
these offenses should be deported immediately upon the completion of 
their sentences. Under H.R. 668, the Attorney General will no longer 
have the ability to grant relief from deportation to aliens convicted 
of aggravated felonies.
  The bill also expands the number of crimes for which failing to 
appear to serve a sentence qualifies as an aggravated felony. This 
sanction has only applied in the past to crimes that carry a sentence 
of 15 or more years. H.R. 668 lowers the floor to 5 years, and will 
send a strong message to criminal aliens who fail to show up for 
sentencing.
  H.R. 668 allows the INS to exclude aliens who commit serious 
aggravated felonies, and are sentenced to at least 5 years, but are 
released in less than 5 years on parole or due to prison overcrowding. 
Noncitizen aggravated felons should not be admitted to the United 
States, and those who are here should be deported as soon as possible. 
This bill significantly strengthens the Government's ability to deport 
criminal aliens by eliminating the gap between the end of their 
sentences and the date of deportation.
  H.R. 668 also ensures that an alien who illegally reenters the 
country after being deported, may only challenge the original 
deportation order after exhausting all administrative remedies, and 
only if the deportation order was unfair. It further provides that any 
alien convicted of an aggravated felony who is not a legal permanent 
resident is presumed to be deportable. Judicial review of a petition to 
stay the deportation order will be limited only to determining the 
identity of the alien and confirming that he or she was convicted of an 
aggravated felony.
  Too few criminal aliens are being deported today. The deportation 
process can be years in length. H.R. 668 will streamline the process by 
eliminating frivolous challenges to deportation orders. The INS needs 
all the help they can get in speeding up deportations, and we can give 
them that help by passing this bill.
  Americans should not have to tolerate the presence of those who abuse 
both our immigration and criminal laws. Criminal aliens should be on 
the fast track out of the country. This bill addresses the concerns of 
the American people by giving the INS and prosecutors tools they need 
to expedite the deportation of criminal aliens.
  I am especially pleased that the bill includes provisions granting 
wiretap authority to assist INS in apprehending alien smugglers. Alien 
smuggling is a most despicable crime. It hurts Americans by 
facilitating illegal immigration, and places illegal aliens in human 
bondage. Those smuggled by organized rings are often required to work 
off the smuggling fees. Others must sell drugs or their bodies for the 
smugglers.
  These organized smuggling rings are a grave threat to the welfare of 
all individuals--both Americans and aliens. For this reason, I am also 
pleased to see a provision that makes alien smuggling a predicate 
offense for the application of RICO laws. It is imperative that we send 
the strongest possible message to alien smugglers; a message that will 
be enforced to the full extent of the law.
  Finally, H.R. 668 transfers control of the Criminal Alien Tracking 
Center created in last year's crime bill from the Attorney General to 
the INS Commissioner. I believe that this is a positive step toward 
removing bureaucracy and excessive redtape from the deportation 
process. I am also pleased that the tracking center, renamed the 
Criminal Alien Identification System, is directed to work closely with 
Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies to identify criminal 
aliens for deportation.
  This Nation can no longer tolerate an increasing population of 
noncitizen criminals. The American people made it very clear on 
November 8 that they expect us to eliminate the problem of criminal 
aliens, and this bill is a significant step toward doing that.


                          ____________________