[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 51 (Friday, April 19, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3713-S3714]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            ALIEN SMUGGLING

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, last evening, I had a brief 
opportunity to indicate to the majority leader my view of the 
importance of the illegal immigration bill and my hope that it would be 
restored to the floor very shortly.
  Yesterday, the Justice Department made a series of arrests on the 
west coast which I believe underscore the need for this bill to be 
rapidly considered by this Senate and hopefully passed.
  Arrests were made yesterday in San Francisco of persons involved in 
large-scale alien smuggling. They capped a 3-year investigation by the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service and the U.S. attorney in the 
northern district of California. This operation was

[[Page S3714]]

known as Operation Sea Dragon, and the investigation resulted in a 
sealed four-count indictment of 23 people, all of whom were members of 
organized and violent gangs.
  The investigation revealed that a number of powerful New York-based 
gangs, including the White Tigers, the Fuk Ching, and the Broom Street 
Boys, joined forces with two Bay Area gangs to smuggle several hundred 
aliens from China into the United States in 1993.
  According to the U.S. attorney's office, a San Francisco-based 
Vietnamese gang was responsible for furnishing the fishing vessels to 
ferry the smuggled aliens from the mother ship to the coast. A Chinese 
gang operating out of Oakland then arranged for land transportation and 
drop houses to facilitate the aliens' travel to New York. More than 270 
illegal Chinese aliens were detained when the two fishing boats, the 
Angel and the Pelican, landed in San Francisco Bay. As many as 15 
passengers escaped and an additional 24 smuggled aliens were arrested 
later at a drop house in New York City.
  Initially, five people were arrested in San Francisco in connection 
with the arrival of the two ships. These five smugglers were sentenced 
in June 1994 to just--to just 2 years in prison.
  What is interesting is that it is clear from the level of 
sophistication in this particular operation that organized smuggling of 
illegal aliens is now becoming a huge business. It is estimated at more 
than $3 billion a year. It is also clear from the relatively light 
sentences imposed on those involved that the current penalties do not 
outweigh the fortune illegal alien smugglers win by breaking the law. 
And that is the point of my remarks today.
  Since August 1991, at least 21 boatloads carrying almost 3,000 
illegal aliens have been intercepted in U.S. waters by American 
authorities, 3 near Los Angeles, 4 outside San Diego, and 3 in San 
Francisco, including the 2 ships involved in this story.
  The State Department estimates that today there are at least 50 ships 
used by smugglers, or being constructed to smuggle immigrants. 
Smugglers cram hundreds of illegal immigrants into decrepit ships in 
inhumane, cramped quarters where all kinds of abuse often occurs. They 
are often subject to near starvation. They arrive to lives as 
indentured workers, and they struggle to pay off their crossing debts 
which reportedly are around $25,000 to $30,000.
  Currently the maximum penalty for this kind of smuggling is 5 years. 
The 23 people indicted in these sealed indictments, these sealed arrest 
indictments, will be charged with 4 counts, including conspiracy, 
transportation and harboring of illegal aliens. Each count carries a 
maximum penalty of just 5 years and a fine of $250,000.
  If past sentences handed down in similar cases serve as any 
indication, it is likely that most of these 23 will serve either a 
year-and-a-half or maybe somewhat more. So, less than 3 years will be 
served for smuggling nearly 300 people into the country. That is one of 
the reasons why present Federal sentences do in no way, shape, or form 
deter this kind of activity.
  The illegal immigration bill proposed by the Judiciary Committee, and 
which was taken down by the majority leader, provides much stronger 
sentences. Federal prosecutors around my State have asked that the 
Congress increase the penalties against alien smugglers, and the bill 
does just that. It doubles the maximum sentence for alien smuggling 
from the current 5 years to 10 years for the first and second offenses. 
If a third offense occurs, the maximum penalty is increased to 15 
years.

  The bill would make alien smuggling a predicate act under RICO. This 
would mean that longer prison sentences could be handed down if other 
crimes were committed, and in general that the racketeering statutes 
could be applied.
  It would also allow fines amounting to twice the profit made through 
smuggling to be imposed. And it would change the penalty so that 
smugglers can be charged with a violation for each person smuggled. 
Current law makes it one criminal act, regardless of the number of 
people smuggled.
  It would also make any person who knowingly hires an illegal alien or 
smuggled alien subject to a fine and up to 5 years in prison. It would 
increase prison sentences for smugglers who bring an alien into this 
country who later commits a crime, and it would allow asset forfeiture 
laws to be applied.
  The U.S. attorney says to us, if this legislation had already become 
law, the sentences to these 23 smugglers arrested yesterday would be 
increased by 50 to 100 percent. Instead of facing maximum sentences of 
20 years, they would be 30 to 40 years, and the end result would be 
that the actual time served would increase.
  I would like to particularly congratulate U.S. Attorney Michael 
Yamaguchi, the INS, and all the Federal agents involved in this 
successful investigation.
  Now the Congress must do its job to see that the laws in place are 
adequate to deter this kind of illegal alien smuggling. The bill also 
provides an opportunity to stop illegal immigration--a huge, huge 
problem in the State of California, with 2 million people there now 
illegally--the ability to stop it at the borders.
  It would include an additional 700 Border Patrol officers. It would 
include $12 million for infrastructure, for roads and for fencing. And 
it would include an additional 300 INS investigators. It would also 
toughen the so-called employer sanctions promulgated in 1986.
  I can only tell you that Proposition 187 passed overwhelmingly in the 
State of California, the largest State in the Union. If this is not a 
message that reaches this Congress, I do not know what kinds of actions 
it takes. So I would simply like to say, please, majority leader, I say 
this very sincerely, reschedule this bill soon so the many amendments 
pending can be considered, so this floor can engage in a practical, a 
fair, and a just debate, and so that those sanctions that can prevent 
illegal immigration into this country can be revised and based on 
modern-day needs.
  I yield the floor.

             TRIBUTE TO THE LATE HONORABLE EDMUND S. MUSKIE

  Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues from 
both sides of the aisle in paying respect to a giant of contemporary 
politics. Edmund S. Muskie, loyal son of Maine, selflessly gave his 
entire life to public service. His passing is a profound loss, but his 
shining example of integrity and decency is a legacy for all Americans 
to admire.
  A man of deep intellect, wisdom, and passion, Edmund Muskie graduated 
from Maine's Bates College to serve three terms as State legislator, 
two terms as Maine's Governor, and 22 years in the U.S. Senate. He 
answered President Carter's call to resign from the Senate to become 
Secretary of State.
  As David Broder of the Washington Post has pointed out, Muskie was a 
politician of rare vision, one who addressed two overriding national 
issues decades before most others--shifting responsibility from the 
Federal Government to the States, and putting America's fiscal house in 
order.
  While often supporting activist Government, Muskie recognized that 
many programs needed to be tailored to the varying situations in each 
of the 50 States. Indeed, he was ahead of his time. He was the first 
chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and he fought to keep deficits 
of the 1960's a minute fraction of what they have become today.
  Perhaps standing above all his many achievements is his lead in 
creating a cleaner environment. He worked tirelessly to create 
bipartisan support for landmark environmental laws which have allowed 
our children to grow up in a more healthy and beautiful America.
  So today, we pay tribute to a man who cared deeply for his native 
State, his New England, and his country. We grieve with his family, and 
hope their time of suffering is alleviated in some way by knowing that 
America is grateful for his service and shares in their loss. Edmund 
Muskie, a great man, made the United States a greater nation.

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