[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8776]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           IMMIGRATION REFORM

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 6, 2004

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge that 
Congress make immigration reform a top priority.
  Our immigration system is critically flawed. In fact, it's the 
Achilles' heel of America's national security. We learned that hard 
reality on September 11th and we're still paying for it today, as 
foreign visitors and illegal immigrants alike move effortlessly across 
our borders.
  Since 2001, Congress and the Bush Administration have made changes 
that have addressed some of the many systemic flaws in the immigration 
process. But, a great deal remains untackled on the road to ensuring 
America's safety.
  We still have twelve to fifteen million immigrants living and 
working--illegally--on American soil. Fortunately, most are not 
security threats and simply seek to improve their own economic status 
by working for U.S. wages. But, as we witnessed on 9/11, some are here 
to do us harm either as terrorists, or, more likely, by engaging in 
criminal activities. We must continue to identify and expel those who 
pose public safety threats.
  Most immigrants are good people. However, numbers matter, and simply 
put, we're letting too many people in, and we aren't properly 
assimilating the roughly 1.5 million new immigrants who come here 
annually. Many of them are uneducated, unskilled, and speak no English. 
This has real, adverse, impacts on American life. Jobs are lost to 
cheap foreign labor influx, schools are overcrowded, public health care 
is strained by millions who lack coverage, and urban sprawl and 
congestion impacts the environment.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress can no longer ignore the immigration issue. We 
must reform current policies to radically curtail illegal inflows. Our 
colleague from South Carolina, Representative Gresham Barrett, has 
introduced comprehensive, much needed immigration reform in H.R. 3522. 
I urge my colleagues to join me in cosponsoring this important measure.

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