The H-1B bills in Congress are not the only important immigration matters being considered. Under the 1996 Immigration Act, the INS is charged with implementing a new entry and exit control system at the borders. The prospects for launching that system have drawn considerable protests from the Canadian government which is concerned that Canadian citizens will now have to wait as long as eight hours at the border to enter the U.S. Late last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved S.1360 which would tighten checks at airports but would not make changes at the land and sea entry points.
Section 110 of the 1996 Immigration Act calls on the INS to record all the departures and arrivals of foreigners in the United States. The law calls on the INS to implement the system this coming October. Sen. Spencer Abraham, the State Immigration Subcommittee Chairman and the sponsor of S. 1360, has stated that “the notion of keeping this requirement on the books is simply indefensible. No one – not INS, not the State Department, and not anyone in Congress – has come up with a feasible way of implementing such system.”
Supporters of the measure point to the fact that only 40,000 of the 1.5 million people apprehended by the INS trying to enter the country illegally attempted to enter through Canada. Not surprisingly, the most vocal opponents of S. 1360 are legislators from states near or bordering Mexico.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association has also spoke out strongly against the implementation of Section 110. According to AILA, Section 110 is a “congressional sledgehammer” that could put nearly $500 billion in annual trade in jeopardy.
Currently, only persons entering the U.S. are inspected by immigration officers. Under the proposed system, everyone leaving United States would also be inspected. Presumably, persons leaving would have to complete biographic information documents. According to AILA, at popular crossing points in to Canada, the wait to for a truck to leave the country could last as long as seventeen hours. And since it costs $150 per hour to operate a truck, it could actually cost truckers up to $2500 to cross in to Canada. The costs, according to AILA, are bound to be passed on to consumers across North America.
On the same day the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on the exit control bill, it also passed S. 1504, “The Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act” which was introduced by Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL). The bill would grant residence to Haitians who applied for asylum or were paroled to into United States on our before December 31, 1995. The bill also grants permanent residence to a small number of Haitian children who entered the United States prior to December 31, 1995 and were either accompanied by their parents, became orphans after coming to the U.S., or were abandoned by their parents prior to April 1, 1998.
The Haitian amnesty bill would provide relief for nearly 42,000 people who fled Haiti after the 1991 deposing of Presidential Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Persons in deportation proceedings or who have already been ordered deported will be able to seek relief if this bill is passed.
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