[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 48 (Thursday, April 25, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H1624-H1625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               INS REFORM

  (Mr. SULLIVAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to voice my support for the 
immigration reform bill before the House this week. I commend the 
Committee on the Judiciary and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Sensenbrenner), the chairman of that committee, and the House 
Republican leadership for this legislation, the Immigration Reform and 
Accountability Act.
  It is absolutely critical that we completely restructure the INS, one 
of the most inefficient government agencies. The continual ineptitude 
was only brought to the public knowledge by the events of September 11. 
I believe the final straw was March 11 when two of the terrorist 
hijackers received paperwork showing that their student visas had been 
approved. These visa approvals came well after the two would-be 
hijackers had completed their training course.

[[Page H1625]]

  While this shocked many, this level of ineptitude has gone on for 
years in the INS. INS blames the delays on antiquated, inaccurate and 
untimely and inefficient paper-based processing systems, while I 
believe the problem lies with the antiquated, inaccurate and untimely 
INS. The management structure, the authority structure, the technology 
all need a comprehensive overhaul, which is exactly what is before us 
with the Immigration Reform and Accountability Act.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

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