[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 10]
[House]
[Pages 13939-13940]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            SUPPORTING CLEAR LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR IMMIGRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NORWOOD. Mr. Speaker, next week I will introduce legislation that 
received wide bipartisan support in the last Congress, the Clear Law 
Enforcement for Removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens Act, better known as 
CLEAR.
  This bill seeks to address a major crisis in our country: the lack of 
enforcement of our immigration laws.
  The CLEAR Act makes clear that State and local law enforcement can 
and should help Federal agencies enforce these laws.
  We have no problem asking local law enforcement to help enforce 
Federal drug laws. We have no problem asking local agencies to help in 
Federal manhunts for murderers and terrorists. We even have no problem 
with deputy and police enforcing Federal laws against cigarette sales 
to minors.
  Yet when the issue of immigration enforcement arises, so do the 
squeals that immigration is a Federal responsibility and should not be 
pushed off on the States. They are right. It is a Federal 
responsibility. The problem is that the Federal Government is not 
taking their responsibility very serious.
  Mr. Speaker, the catastrophe of illegal immigration has already been 
pushed off on the States by the Federal Government flatly refusing to 
do its duty of enforcing the law. Our police and deputies spend 
billions combating illegal immigrant crime, including organized foreign 
gangs. This could have been prevented by vigorous Federal enforcement 
at the border.
  Our local jails are full of criminal illegal aliens, costing the 
States billions per year. This could have been prevented by vigorous 
Federal enforcement at the border.
  Our local hospital emergency rooms are full of indigent illegal 
aliens who drive up the cost of health care to a point that hardworking 
Americans can basically no longer afford it. This could have been 
prevented by vigorous Federal enforcement at the border.
  Our local schools are filled with children of illegal immigrants who 
pay little or no local taxes, but drive up property taxes for 
hardworking American families to cover the skyrocketing costs of 
bilingual and special education. This could have been prevented by 
vigorous Federal enforcement at our borders.
  Our police routinely find illegals, including those with criminal 
records. They call the Federal Government, which does nothing other 
than force our police to release these criminals back on to our 
streets. There are about 500,000 of them out there.
  This has got to stop, and this is a fair bill, and it is intended to 
stop that.
  Washington had its chance to enforce the law, and it has failed the 
Nation. Now it is time we stop putting obstacles in the way of our 
police, deputies, and State patrol helping to get this job done.
  Under the CLEAR Act, local law enforcement is authorized to not only 
arrest illegal aliens but to transport

[[Page 13940]]

them to the nearest Federal detention centers, including across State 
lines; and if DHS does not pick them up immediately, under CLEAR, the 
Federal Government pays the tab for that, as appropriate.
  CLEAR authorizes new Federal resources to support local law 
enforcement, including immigration law training, 20 new Federal 
detention centers and more if they are needed.
  The CLEAR Act makes illegal immigration a criminal offense, not just 
a civil offense. Repeat offenders will face serious jail time, not a 
free ride back to the border.
  Mr. Speaker, next week this House will have a chance to start getting 
serious about fighting our national crisis of illegal immigration. I 
urge every Member in this House to join us as an original cosponsor.

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