FAIR Press Release

FAIR Press Release

11/2/01

Business as Usual? Appropriations Bill May Keep Terrorist Loophole Open

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) today issued the following:

In letters and meetings with Members of Congress, FAIR has communicated our strong objections to a provision included in an appropriations bill to fund the Commerce, Justice and State (CJS) Departments that will tie the hands of immigration authorities trying to run background checks on illegal aliens seeking to have their status adjusted. H.R. 2500, the CJS Appropriations bill, would extend a provision known as Section 245(i) that allows illegal aliens to apply for adjustment to legal residence while remaining in U.S. rather than being required to return home and have their backgrounds investigated by consular officers in their home country.

While President Bush has only this week called for greater scrutiny of the intentions of foreign students entering the United States, his White House lobbying operation is pressing Congress to approve legislation that would ignore the backgrounds of tens of thousands of illegal aliens already residing in the United States. "The President's efforts to extend this deeply-flawed and dangerous provision make a mockery of his announcement on foreign students earlier this week." said Dan Stein, executive director of FAIR. "It's back to business as usual passing immigration loopholes that threaten national security."

Section 245(i) would extend a provision allowing illegal aliens to pay the INS $1000 and remain in the country, subject to only a cursory U.S. police record check, before receiving green cards. If Section 245(i) is not revived, these illegal aliens will instead be required to return to their country of origin where their application for an immigration visa would be subject to a far more vigorous home country background investigation.

As the terrorists' ringleader Mohammed Atta proved, an application for adjustment of status can be used to circumvent normal scrutiny of visa applicants. Atta used a pending change in status from a visitor's visa to a student visa to regain entry into the United States following trips abroad to confer with members of the al Qaeda terrorism network.

"It is staggering to think the President's advisors, in such a brazen fashion, would ask members of Congress to vote favorably on such a terrorist-friendly measure," commented Stein. "Avoiding a reward for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens by denying them a preferential immigration benefit is reason enough to strip this provision from the CJS Appropriations bill. Rewarding law violators while placing our national security at risk is irresponsible."