[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 193 (Wednesday, December 6, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H14029]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REFORM LEGAL IMMIGRATION

  (Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, our legal immigration system is 
broken and needs to be fixed.
  It forces husbands and wives and their children to wait up to 10 
years to join each other in the United States.
  Also, the number of legal immigrants applying for supplemental 
security income has increased 580 percent over the last 12 years. That 
costs hard-working taxpayers $4 billion a year.
  And our broken legal immigration system drives the crisis in illegal 
immigration. Over 40 percent of all illegal aliens arrived as legal 
immigrants but overstayed their temporary visas.
  To fix these problems, the Immigration in the National Interest Act, 
H.R. 2202, substantially reduces the waiting time for families to be 
reunited.
  It also encourages legal immigrants to be self-reliant and 
discourages them from becoming a burden to the American taxpayer.
  Help fix a broken immigration system and support the Immigration in 
the National Interest Act.

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