[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 7, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E62-E63]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN SUPPORT OF REP. BOB DORNAN'S REQUEST FOR A FORMAL INVESTIGATION BY 
                     THE HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CLIFF STEARNS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 1997

  Mr. STEARNS. Mr. Speaker, today I was officially sworn in as a member 
of the 105th Congress as were my 434 colleagues.
  I was heartened to learn that although Ms. Loretta Sanchez was sworn 
in to represent the 46th district of California, this would in no way 
prejudice Congress' consideration of the request made by former 
Representative Bob Dornan that Congress initiate a formal investigation 
into certain voter irregularities, which have occurred in the election 
in District 46, California on November 5, 1996.
  I would caution my colleagues that this is not some bogus demand 
being made as a vendetta, nor is it groundless and without merit. There 
are proven cases of voter fraud in this election, which have already 
been acknowledged and verified. My major concern is that we must not 
allow our election process to become a sham merely because it is 
perceived to be politically correct. As a result of an initial 
investigation into this matter, an arm of the office of the Immigration 
and Naturalization Service [INS] has already been ordered by INS to 
shut down its citizenship testing program as of January 6, 1997.
  Have we forgotten the struggles of minority citizens and women and 
their efforts to attain the right to vote?
  Mr. Speaker, this request is not without precedent, I call to your 
attention McCloskey and McIntyre in the 99th Congress, 1st session or 
Roush versus Chambers 87th Congress, 1st session. These two cases 
involved dispositions to the House concerning Federal elections.
  This country prides itself the fact that we are a democracy and abide 
by the axiom of ``One man; one vote.'' However, I would like to quote a 
well known playwright who wrote: ``It's not the voting that's 
democracy; it's the counting.''

[[Page E63]]

              [From the Washington Post, January 4, 1997]

            INS Halts Interviews at California Organization

                         (By William Branigin)

       With allegations of vote fraud continuing in one of the 
     most hotly contested congressional elections, the Immigration 
     and Naturalization Service is distancing itself from an 
     organization that reportedly registered immigrants to vote 
     before they became citizens.
       The INS this week suspended citizenship interviews at three 
     Los Angeles area offices of Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, a 
     Hispanic and immigrant rights group, pending the outcome of 
     voting probe. To streamline the naturalization process, the 
     INS had been conducting final citizenship interviews at the 
     group's offices with applicants who had passed English and 
     civics tests administered by Hermandad.
       According to published reports, dozens of Hermandad clients 
     illegally registered to vote after passing the tests and the 
     INS interviews, but before they being sworn in as citizens. 
     Some said they had registered to vote at Hermandad offices 
     while INS officers were present.
       Of more than 1,300 people registered by Hermandad last 
     year, nearly 800 reportedly cast ballots Nov. 5. At least 
     some of them voted in the California district in which Rep. 
     Robert K. Dornan, 63, a Republican, lost by 979 votes to 
     Democrat Loretta Sanchez, 36.
       Dornan blamed his defeat on alleged irregularities, 
     including voting by noncitizens and felons. He filed 
     a complaint with the House seeking to overturn the 
     election result. Sanchez, a member of the district's 
     growing Hispanic population, said a recount had confirmed 
     her victory. She is scheduled to be sworn in when Congress 
     convenes Tuesday.
       ``I don't want to be the first person in history, man or 
     woman, House or Senate, to be voted out of office by felons, 
     by people voting who are not U.S. citizens, who are felons or 
     children or people not allowed to vote,'' Dornan said in a 
     television interview last month. He charged that up to 1,000 
     noncitizens and felons had cast ballots.
       Republican members of a House subcommittee have accused the 
     INS of improperly naturalizing criminals in a rush to produce 
     new pro-Democratic voters in time for the Nov. 5 elections.
       The Los Angeles Times reported last week that 19 
     noncitizens acknowledged voting in the Dornan-Sanchez race 
     before completing the naturalization process. All said they 
     had registered to vote at Hermandad, 18 of them after taking 
     citizenship classes there and passing a test and INS 
     interview, the paper reported. They did not say whom they 
     voted for.
       The Orange County Register reported that 30 Hermandad 
     clients had registered to vote weeks before they were sworn 
     in, although all but four became citizens before the 
     election. It is nevertheless a felony under state law to 
     register to vote before becoming a citizen. Under a new 
     federal immigration law, noncitizens who vote are 
     ineligible for naturalization and can be deported.
       The Orange County District Attorney's Office began 
     investigating ``possible registration and voting'' by 
     ineligible persons, but has not collected enough evidence to 
     prosecute anyone, Assistant District Attorney Wallace Wade 
     said.
       Richard Rogers, INS district director in Los Angeles, said 
     that pending the investigation, the INS would no longer 
     interview citizenship applicants at three Hermandad testing 
     sites, requiring applicants to come to an INS office. He said 
     INS officers would routinely ask applicants if they had 
     voted.
       A spokesman for Hermandad, Jay Lindsey, said the group 
     takes the allegations ``very seriously'' and is conducting a 
     review to determine if any regulations were violated. He 
     denied that the group knowingly committed voter fraud and 
     said ``we do not engage in politics.''
       Some Hermandad sites are affiliates of Naturalization 
     Assistance Services, Inc., one of five companies designated 
     by INS to conduct citizenship classes and testing. The firm 
     ran into trouble last year after evidence of fraud was found 
     at some of its sites. Last week, the INS ordered it to shut 
     down its citizenship testing program on Jan. 6.
       Hermandad also has sites affiliated with another company, 
     which will continue to administer citizenship tests and 
     prepare applicants for INS interviews.

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