[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 144 (Thursday, October 23, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H9478]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              STOP 245(I)

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Bilbray] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BILBRAY. Mr. Speaker, I am here to address an item that has not 
been discussed very much at all here on the House floor this year, but 
something that was discussed extensively last year with the passage of 
the Immigration Reform Act. This item will be considered under the 
Commerce, Justice, and State conference report very soon.
  This item is called 245(I), the notorious illegal alien amnesty 
program. It is a program that allows that somebody who has violated our 
immigration laws can pay $1,000 as a payment to be exempted from the 
immigration laws of the United States. This 245(I) allows those who 
have broken our laws to gain special status that those who are waiting 
patiently to immigrate into our country do not have access to.
  245(I) means that the people who have played by the rules are being 
punished and that those who have broken the rules are now going to be 
rewarded.
  Mr. Speaker, I think there was one very clear message that we tried 
to articulate in the Immigration Reform Act of 1997, and that was that 
it was unfair to punish those who played by the rules and to reward 
those who broke the rules. And in fact that bill, the immigration 
reform bill, which was aimed at ending these types of policies, was 
passed by an overwhelming majority, by 320 votes in this House.

  Democrat and Republican joined together to tell the American people 
that we were going to stop the absurd process of rewarding illegal 
immigration. And also those 230 Members of Congress voted together here 
in this House to send a message not just to America but to the world 
that the days of rewarding people to come into this country illegally 
was going to end; and to tell everybody in the world that if they want 
to come to this country, then come here legally. If they play by the 
rules, then we will reward them. Break the rules, and they will not be 
rewarded.
  Well, 245(I), Mr. Speaker, continues to reward those who have broken 
the law and continues to punish those who have played by the rules.
  Now, there is an action in the other body that discusses the idea of 
extending this again another 4 years. And this was a program that was 
snuck in 3 years ago and was only supposed to be around for 3 years.
  Let me remind my colleagues that there are 3,000,500 people waiting 
patiently to immigrate legally. They do not have the chance to pay 
$1,000 and get on the fast track, because they have played by the 
rules. The fact is there is a million people in this country today that 
have been identified by the immigration department that are potentially 
eligible to buy into this amnesty program with $1,000.
  Now, originally, when this bill was passed and this amnesty program 
was put in, it was estimated that only 10,000 people would take 
advantage of this program, and they said that only 10,000 would be 
initiated. The fact is 400,000 have applied, Mr. Speaker, 400,000 
people that have said we want to buy our way out of our illegal status 
and pay a bribe to the U.S. Government so that they will forgive us for 
being illegal.
  The fact is, Mr. Speaker, this number has gotten so big that over 
$200 million is acquired by the United States from this bribe, what we 
call in my neighborhood ``mordida,'' and it is a bribe to get the 
Government to look the other way.
  Now, there are those who will say we have to keep this program now 
because we are making over $200 million, and that somehow we are going 
to make benefits off of this. Let me remind my colleagues, Mr. Speaker, 
that a lot of these individuals who are paying the $1,000 to acquire 
this legal status are doing so to qualify to receive public assistance 
benefits from the Federal Government for their children and so that 
they can then get a check. The fact is the $1,000 will be recouped by 
many of these individuals if they have minor children who were born 
here in the United States while they were illegally in this country.
  Now, I think it is quite unfair that there are those 3\1/2\ million 
people waiting patiently to immigrate who are not offered this kind of 
option. Their children are not given automatic citizenship, their 
children are not offered automatic welfare benefits, and they, by 
paying $1,000, do not automatically qualify for public assistance and 
welfare in the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, I think that it is time that this Congress has the guts 
to stand up again, like it did last year, saying that the days of 
rewarding illegal immigration are over with, the days of punishing 
those who played by the rules are over with. Mr. Speaker, I am asking 
for this body to publicly discuss the fact that if 320 Members said it 
was time to end this program a year ago, why is the Senate and why is 
this House even considering extending this program?
  I think it is time the American people called every one of their 
Congressmen and said stop the alien amnesty program, stop 245(I), and 
let us start treating people fairly and rewarding them for playing by 
the rules.

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