[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 17, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10712-S10713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     REPEAL OF SECTION 434 OF THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND WORK 
                 OPPORTUNITY RECONCILIATION ACT OF 1996

 Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, yesterday I introduced 
legislation to repeal section 434 of the recently enacted Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. Section 
434 provides that:

       Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or 
     local law, no State or local government entity may be 
     prohibited, or in any way restricted, from sending to or 
     receiving from the Immigration and Naturalization Service INS 
     information regarding the immigration status, lawful or 
     unlawful, of an alien in the United States.

  This provision is ill-advised and threatens the public health and 
safety of residents of New York City because it conflicts with an 
executive order, issued by the major of New York in 1985, prohibiting 
city employees from reporting suspected illegal aliens to the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service unless the alien has been 
charged with a crime. The executive order, which is similar to local 
laws in other States and cities, was intended to ensure that fear of 
deportation does not deter illegal aliens from seeking emergency 
medical attention, reporting crimes, and so forth.
  On September 8, 1995, during Senate consideration of H.R. 4, the Work 
Opportunity Act of 1995, Senators Santorum and Nickles offered this 
provision as an amendment. The amendment was adopted by a vote of 91 to 
6. The Senators who voted ``no'' were: Senators Akaka, Campbell, 
Inouye, Moseley-Braun, Moynihan, and Simon.
  Four of these six--Senators Akaka, Moseley-Braun, Simon, and the 
Senator from New York--were also among the 11 Democrats who voted 
against H.R. 4 when it passed the Senate on September 19, 1995. H.R. 4, 
of course, was later vetoed by President Clinton.

[[Page S10713]]

  Last week, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York announced that he 
and his staff had recently become aware of section 434 of the new 
welfare law, and planned to challenge it in court.
  An alien who witnesses a crime should feel free to report it to the 
police without fear of being deported. Just as an alien ought to be 
able to get emergency medical attention without fear of deportation. 
Mr. President, section 434 of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 poses a serious threat to health 
and safety in New York City and elsewhere. It should be 
repealed.

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