[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 10, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H10115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SHAMELESS HUSTLING FOR VOTES IS MAKING A MOCKERY OF IMMIGRATION

  (Mr. BALLENGER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BALLENGER. Madam Speaker, last Friday's Washington Times 
contained a front-page article which showed me just how far the 
President will go to win votes. The article claimed that the Clinton 
administration has pressured the Immigration and Naturalization Service 
to speed up the standards and background checks on applicants for 
citizenship and to ignore other requirements in order to naturalize as 
many immigrants as possible before the November elections.
  By taking such shortcuts, the President is putting in danger the 
naturalization of immigrants with criminal records and other immigrants 
not qualified for citizenship.
  In the past year 1.3 million people have become naturalized citizens, 
nearly three times the number of previous years. The reason for this is 
a Presidential initiative called Citizenship USA, which is supposed to 
help legal immigrants through the naturalization process. Instead, the 
program is being used as a campaign tool of the Clinton campaign in 
hopes of winning votes of these new citizens. Complying with the 
directives established by this program has some INS officials feeling 
like the campaign workers of INS.
  Becoming a U.S. citizen is a great honor, and I suspect the President 
will indeed receive the reward he has envisioned, but I believe that 
shameless hustling for votes is making a mockery of our immigration.

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