    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book I)]
    [May 3, 1995]
    [Pages 632-633]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Message to the Congress Transmitting Proposed Legislation To Improve
    Immigration Enforcement
    May 3, 1995

    To the Congress of the United States:
        I am pleased to transmit today for your immediate consideration and
    enactment the ``Immigration Enforcement Improvements Act of 1995.'' This
    legislative proposal builds on the Administration's FY 1996 Budget
    initiatives and complements the Presidential Memorandum I signed on
    February 7, 1995, which directs heads of executive departments and
    agencies to strengthen control of our borders, increase worksite
    enforcement, improve employment authorization verification, and expand
    the capability of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to
    identify criminal aliens and remove them from the United States. Also
    transmitted is a section-by-section analysis.
        Some of the most significant provisions of this proposal will:
         Authorize the Attorney General to increase the Border
    Patrol by no fewer than 700 agents and add sufficient personnel to
    support those agents for fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998.
         Authorize the Attorney General to increase the number of
    border inspectors to a level adequate to assure full staffing.
         Authorize an Employment Verification Pilot Program to
    conduct tests of various methods of verifying work authorization status,
    including using the Social Security Administration and INS databases.
    The Pilot Program will determine the most cost-effective, fraud-
    resistant, and nondiscriminatory means of removing a significant
    incentive to illegal immigration--employment in the United States.
         Reduce the number of documents that may be used for
    employment authorization.
         Increase substantially the penalties for alien smuggling,
    illegal reentry, failure to depart, employer violations, and immigration
    document fraud.
         Streamline deportation and exclusion procedures so that the
    INS can expeditiously remove more criminal aliens from the United
    States.
         Allow aliens to be excluded from entering the United States
    during extraordinary migration

    [[Page 633]]

    situations or when the aliens are arriving on board smuggling vessels.
    Persons with a credible fear of persecution in their countries of
    nationality would be allowed to enter the United States to apply for
    asylum.
         Expand the use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
    Organizations (RICO) statute to authorize its use to pursue alien
    smuggling organizations; permit the INS, with judicial authorization, to
    intercept wire, electronic, and oral communications of persons involved
    in alien smuggling operations; and make subject to forfeiture all
    property, both real and personal, used or intended to be used to smuggle
    aliens.
         Authorize Federal courts to require criminal aliens to
    consent to their deportation as a condition of probation.
         Permit new sanctions to be imposed against countries that
    refuse to accept the deportation of their nationals from the United
    States. The proposal will allow the Secretary of State to refuse
    issuance of all visas to nationals of those countries.
         Authorize a Border Services User Fee to help add additional
    inspectors at high volume ports-of-entry. The new inspectors will
    facilitate legal crossings; prevent entry by illegal aliens; and stop
    cross-border drug smuggling. (Border States, working with local
    communities, would decide whether the fee should be imposed in order to
    improve infrastructure.)
        This legislative proposal, together with my FY 1996 Budget and the
    February 7th Presidential Memorandum, will continue this
    Administration's unprecedented actions to combat illegal immigration
    while facilitating legal immigration. Our comprehensive strategy will
    protect the integrity of our borders and laws without dulling the luster
    of our Nation's proud immigrant heritage.
        I urge the prompt and favorable consideration of this legislative
    proposal by the Congress.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    May 3, 1995.