With both houses of the US Congress under Republican control for the first time in more than forty years and with immigration one of the hottest issues in the country, many believe that major immigration legislation will emerge.
Several Senators are already working on bills that, if passed, would drastically reform the immigration system. Senator Alan K. Simpson, now chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration and Refugee Issues, is expected to introduce legislation similar to legislation introduced in 1994. That bill included some of the following provisions:
- cutting back legal immigration from 750,000 to 500,000
- expedited exclusion of aliens requesting asylum who arrive at ports of entry without documentation
- imposing penalties on persons who sign I-134 Affidavits of Support but fail to live up to their promise
- new measures designed to keep out undocumented persons including increased border controls
- new penalties agains filers of frivolous asylum claims
Senator Diane Feinstein, also on the subcommittee is expected to introduce legislation imposing a border crossing fee of one to two dollars per crossing. The money would support increasing border controls. More extreme measures, such as moratoriums on legal immigration and measures designed to limit public benefits (such as social security) only to US citizens. The Clinton administration is expected to introduce its own legislation to reform the immigration system. During the President’s recent State of the Union Address, he outlined goals which included strengthening INS enforcement capabilities against out of status aliens and limiting welfare benefits to out of status aliens.
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