[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 155 (Friday, November 7, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S11916]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             BORDER IMPROVEMENT AND IMMIGRATION ACT OF 1997

  Mr. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to offer my support for 
Senate bill 1360, Senator Abraham's Border Improvement and Immigration 
Act introduced November 4. This legislation has already numerous 
cosponsors and is bipartisan in nature.
  This bill clarifies a provision included in the 1996 Illegal 
Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. Section 110 of 
last year's immigration law requires the establishment of an automated 
entry and exit control system. While the merits of this provision are 
admirable, unfortunately, the reality is that this is not a feasible 
concept.
  The section would require documentation of every alien entering and 
leaving our country. Can you imagine? To document entry and exit of 
every foreign national, every alien entering the United States would be 
required to hold a visa or passport or some sort of border crossing 
identification card.
  In my State alone, Mr. President, Canadians are at our border. We are 
separated from the rest of the United States by Canada. We enjoy 
relatively free passage between the two countries as Americans. This 
facilitates trade and strengthens our historical ties of friendship. To 
require the documentation of entry and exit of Canadians would result 
in Canada requesting the same type of consideration. Of course, our 
Canadian neighbors would be forced to wait in long lines. Trade would 
be disrupted. And it would develop a feeling of distrust. This is 
simply unacceptable.
  When former Senator Simpson crafted this immigration reform proposal 
last year, he did not intend to create a new documentation requirement 
for our northern neighbors. Rather, the issue he wished to address was 
the illegal overstay rates of foreign nationals.
  I cannot agree more that the illegal overstays need to be addressed. 
The Immigration and Naturalization Service currently cannot provide 
accurate data on overstay rates. However, the answer does not lie in 
requiring documentation of every alien entering through our land points 
of entry.
  Section 110, if implemented as is, will only create more headaches 
for our friends and neighbors attempting to enter the United States and 
slow both trade and commerce that crosses our land border each day. It 
will do little to address my primary concern about overstay rates and 
subsequent illegal immigration.
  For these reasons, I am supporting Senator Abraham's efforts to 
correct section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
Responsibility Act of 1996 and exempt land entry border points from 
collecting a record of arrivals and departures. I hope that my other 
colleagues join me in cosponsoring S. 1360, the Border Improvement and 
Immigration Act of 1997.
  Mr. President, I would like to make one more statement, if I may, 
with the indulgence of my friend from Wyoming.

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