[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 45 (Thursday, March 28, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IMMIGRATION IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST ACT OF 1995

                                 ______


                               speech of

                             HON. JIM KOLBE

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 20, 1996

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2202) to 
     amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to improve 
     deterrence of illegal immigration to the United States by 
     increasing border patrol and investigative personnel, by 
     increasing penalties for alien smuggling and for document 
     fraud, by reforming exclusion and deportation law and 
     procedures, by improving the verification system for 
     eligibility for employment, and through other measures, to 
     reform the legal immigration system and facilitate legal 
     entries into the United States, and for other purposes:
  Mr. KOLBE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 2202, the 
Immigration in the National Interest Act of 1995. This is an 
extraordinary important bill that improves our Nation's immigration 
policy.
  Clearly, Congress has a responsibility to formulate sound and 
comprehensive policies governing immigration--legal and illegal. The 
need to re-examine our immigration policy has been long overdue. Over 
the past few days this bill has been considered on the floor, a 
vigorous national debate has ensued on this complex and controversial 
issue. Frankly, there are still provisions in this bill that concern 
me--some remaining, some added by floor amendments--but in balance, 
H.R. 2202 makes needed reforms which I will speak about in a moment.
  Like nearly every American, I am concerned about the problems of 
illegal immigration. Over 1.8 million undocumented aliens enter the 
United States each year. We must stem this flow, both for economic and 
security reasons. Terrorism is a growing and legitimate law enforcement 
concern, and illegal entry is frequently the way they get into our 
country. Similarly, the economic cost of illegal immigrants is 
undeniable.
  Limiting the flow of illegal aliens through improved enforcement is 
part of the solution. As a member of the Commerce, Justice, State and 
Judiciary Appropriations Subcommittee, I have consistently supported 
giving the responsible Federal agencies sufficient resources to deal 
with the problem of illegal immigration. We still have work to do in 
this area, and I will continue to work with the Immigration and 
Naturalization Service, as well as with the members of the 
Appropriations Committee, to make sure that we have sufficient manpower 
along the border to deal with flow of undocumented aliens.
  H.R. 2202 includes provisions to improve border crossing 
identification cards by making them less susceptible to counterfeiting. 
In addition, it includes provisions to deter document fraud and alien 
smuggling, and streamlines procedures for the inspection, apprehension, 
detention, adjudication, and removal of inadmissible and deportable 
aliens.
  But there must also be a long-term solution that encourages democracy 
and economic growth in countries that send illegal immigrants to our 
borders--especially Central and South America. Job opportunities in 
those countries is the strongest incentive to keep potential immigrants 
there. Thus, in addition to strong enforcement of our immigration laws 
and imposing sanctions on those who hire illegal aliens, we must seek 
mutually beneficial trade relationships that can stimulate economies in 
Central and South America. This is one of the many reasons I support 
the North American Free-Trade Agreement [NAFTA]. It is in our own self-
interest to help Mexico build an economy that can create the nearly one 
million new jobs required each year to keep ahead of population growth. 
Only in that way can we provide an incentive for Mexicans to stay at 
home--and a disincentive to come to the United States.
  With respect to legal immigration reform, this bill addresses the 
abuse of claims for political asylum. These are currently 300,000 
pending claims, and that number is growing by 12,000 each month. Of 
course, there can be legitimate claims of political asylum, but our 
current system allows for six opportunities of appeal when a claim is 
denied. This is excessive and unacceptable. H.R. 2202 makes much needed 
changes to this asylum process. The asylum reform provision in the bill 
would require aliens to file an application for asylum within 180 days 
of entering the United States. Those filing after the deadline would 
not be eligible for asylum. This is a reasonable and important reform 
because it encourages aliens to apply for asylum without delay and 
makes their presence known to immigration authorities.
  The bill provides that an alien who qualifies as a political refugee 
will be granted asylum unless the person is discovered to have a prior 
history of persecuting other persons, has been convicted of a felony or 
other serious crime prior to his arrival, is regarded as a danger to 
national security, or is inadmissible on terrorist grounds. It provides 
that asylum protection for an alien may be terminated if the person is 
no longer a refugee, can be moved to another country where he will be 
granted asylum or other temporary protection, voluntarily returns to 
his native country with the intent to stay, or has changed his or her 
nationality to a country which will grant asylum.
  Although I favor maintaining numbers of legal immigrants admitted to 
the United States annually at current levels, I did not support the 
Chrysler/Brownback amendment to strip legal immigration reforms from 
the bill. There is a tie between legal and illegal immigration reform 
that cannot be disputed and should not be separated. Changes in illegal 
immigration policy will have an effect on legal immigration and vice 
versa. Although these provisions should have been kept together, I 
support final passage of H.R. 2202. It is imperative that we move 
forward, send this bill to conference with the Senate, and send 
President Clinton a comprehensive and responsible immigration reform 
bill.

                          ____________________