[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 70 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1099-E1100]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  INTRODUCTION OF THE ``SECURITY AND FAIRNESS ENHANCEMENT (SAFE) FOR 
                             AMERICA ACT''

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 7, 2009

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce the 
bipartisan ``Security and Fairness Enhancement (SAFE) for America 
Act.'' This much-needed legislation eliminates the controversial visa 
lottery program, through which 50,000 aliens are chosen at random to 
come and live permanently in the United States based on pure luck. The 
visa lottery program threatens national security, results in the unfair 
administration of our nation's immigration laws, and encourages a 
cottage industry for fraudulent opportunists.
  Because winners of the visa lottery are chosen at random, the visa 
lottery program presents a serious national security threat. A perfect 
example of the system gone awry is the case of Hesham Mohamed Ali 
Hedayet, the Egyptian national who killed two and wounded three during 
a shooting spree at Los Angeles International Airport in July of 2002. 
He was allowed to apply for lawful permanent resident status in 1997 
because of his wife's status as a visa lottery winner.
  The State Department's Inspector General has even weighed in on the 
national security threat posed by the visa lottery program. During 
testimony before the House Committee on the Judiciary, the Office of 
Inspector General stated that the Office ``continues to believe that 
the diversity visa program contains significant risks to national 
security from hostile intelligence officers, criminals, and terrorists 
attempting to use the program for entry into the United States as 
permanent residents.''
  Even if improvements were made to the visa lottery program, nothing 
would prevent terrorist organizations or foreign intelligence agencies 
from planting members in the U.S. by having those members apply for the 
program. As long as those individuals do not have previous criminal 
backgrounds, these types of organized efforts would never be detected, 
even if significant background checks and counter-fraud measures were 
enacted within the program.
  Usually, immigrant visas are issued to foreign nationals that have 
existing connections with family members lawfully residing in the 
United States or with U.S. employers. These types of relationships help 
ensure that immigrants entering our country have a stake in continuing 
America's success and have needed skills to contribute to our nation's 
economy. However, under the visa lottery program, visas are awarded to 
immigrants at random without meeting such criteria.
  In addition, the visa lottery program is unfair to immigrants who 
comply with the United States' immigration laws. The visa lottery 
program does not expressly prohibit illegal aliens from applying to 
receive visas through the program. Thus, the program treats foreign 
nationals that comply with our laws the same as those that blatantly 
violate our laws. In addition, most family-sponsored immigrants 
currently face a wait of years to obtain visas, yet the lottery program 
pushes 50,000 random immigrants with no particular family ties, job 
skills or education ahead of these family and employer-sponsored 
immigrants each year with relatively no wait. This sends the wrong 
message to those who wish to enter our great country and to the 
international community as a whole.
  Furthermore, the visa lottery program is wrought with fraud. A report 
released by the Center for Immigration Studies states that it is 
commonplace for foreign nationals to apply for the lottery program 
multiple times using many different aliases. In addition, the visa 
lottery program has spawned a cottage industry featuring sponsors in 
the U.S. who falsely promise success to applicants in exchange for 
large sums of money. Ill-informed foreign nationals are willing to pay 
top dollar for the ``guarantee'' of lawful permanent resident status in 
the U.S.
  The State Department's Office of Inspector General confirms these 
allegations of widespread fraud in a September 2003 report. 
Specifically, the report states that the visa lottery program is 
``subject to widespread abuse'' and that ``identity fraud is endemic, 
and fraudulent documents are commonplace.'' Furthermore, the report 
also reveals that the State Department found that 364,000 duplicate 
applications were detected in the 2003 visa lottery alone.

[[Page E1100]]

  In addition, the visa lottery program is by its very nature 
discriminatory. The complex formula for assigning visas under the 
program arbitrarily disqualifies natives from countries that send more 
than 50,000 immigrants to the U.S. within a five-year period, which 
excludes nationals from countries such as Mexico, Canada, China and 
others.
  The visa lottery program represents what is wrong with our country's 
immigration system. My legislation would eliminate the visa lottery 
program. The removal of this controversial program will help ensure our 
nation's security, make the administration of our immigration laws more 
consistent and fair, and help reduce immigration fraud and opportunism.

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