[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 45 (Thursday, March 28, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IMMIGRATION IN THE NATIONAL INTEREST ACT OF 1995

                                 ______


                               speech of

                       HON. ESTEBAN EDWARD TORRES

                             of california

                    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. TORRES. Mr. Chairman, I insert the following for the Record.

                           Gallegly Amendment

       This amendment will undermine the well-being of Americans, 
     while doing nothing to advance the goal of immigration 
     control.--By allowing states to throw undocumented children 
     out of public schools, this amendment would push children 
     from their classrooms out onto the streets. The result is 
     unlikely to advance the well-being of the overall community, 
     because children growing up in the United States would be 
     denied an education, and would often be left without 
     supervision.
       This amendment will cost--not save--money for state and 
     local governments and public schools.--In order to implement 
     an immigration restriction, public schools would have to 
     document the status of every student. This means that already 
     overburdened school personnel, who are not immigration 
     experts, would have to confront a confusing array of 
     immigration laws and documents. U.S. citizens who are 
     mistaken for immigrants are likely to be harassed or 
     prevented from enrolling in school. This amendment would 
     allow states to create a climate of fear in the schools at a 
     moment when the nation's attention should be turned to making 
     our schools a safe place to get a solid education for all 
     students.
       The Supreme Court has addressed this issue, and ruled that 
     the U.S. should not punish children who are innocent of their 
     immigration status.--In the Plyler vs. Doe Decision, the 
     Supreme Court found that it is in the public interest for 
     every child living within the United States to have access to 
     a public education. The Gallegly amendment would violate the 
     law and lead to long, costly court challenges, simply to make 
     a point about undocumented immigration which is being made in 
     many other provisions of H.R. 2202.
       This amendment is not doing a favor to states or local 
     governments.--Though it is disguised as a ``states rights'' 
     issue, this amendment does little to advance the cause of 
     allowing state and local governments to make decisions 
     affecting their own communities. If, as Rep. Gallegly argues, 
     it advances the cause of immigration control to throw 
     children out of school, this cause is only served if every 
     state chooses to deny education to undocumented students, 
     which is unlikely. Immigration control is a national matter, 
     and, as this legislation resoundingly suggests, should be 
     dealt with at the federal level. This amendment is neither 
     consistent with sensible immigration control policy, nor is 
     it consistent with the values of most Americans.
       This amendment will do nothing to advance the goal of 
     immigration control.--H.R. 2202 has a variety of enforcement 
     provisions aimed at preventing undocumented immigration. This 
     mean-spirited amendment is unlikely to advance that cause, 
     because the education of children is not driving the 
     immigration process. Instead, it would allow the states to 
     punish innocent children on the basis of their immigration 
     status, though the decision to migrate was not theirs.

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