Statement of the Honorable Lamar Smith, Chairman Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims House Committee on the Judiciary Hearing on Negative Impacts of Illegal Immigration June 10, 1999 The Clinton Administration has halted the buildup of the Border Patrol that Congress mandated in 1996. Actions have consequences. Today we're going to learn the consequences of having too few Border Patrol agents to protect Americans.
People familiar with Congressional hearings know that the first witnesses are usually high-ranking government officials from here in Washington, DC.
Today, however, we are privileged to have witnesses who can speak from their own personal experiences with illegal immigration. Today we hear from the American people directly affected by the lack of immigration law enforcement.
Some of our witnesses can tell us about the crime that accompanies illegal immigration, not because they have done academic studies, but because they have watched and suffered as members of their families and communities were victimized by violence and drug trafficking. They can tell us about the burdens placed on public education by illegal immigration because their children bear those burdens.
Some of our witnesses come from parts of our Southwest border that have become lawless, violent and dangerous places because the Administration refuses to reinforce the Border Patrol. These people live under circumstances that the rest of us can only imagine, with their property invaded and destroyed every night and their families afraid to go out of the house.
Other witnesses can tell us how good job opportunities in their communities have disappeared as unscrupulous employers hire illegal aliens at substandard wages and working conditions.
In many communities, the quality of life has declined tremendously because of illegal immigration. Drugs and gangs appear in small towns that never had them before. County budgets are overwhelmed by demands on law enforcement, education, and social services. Jobs disappear.
Many long-time residents are forced to move away from the communities where they grew up. Those who appeal to the federal government for immigration law enforcement receive little or no help. Those who protest this rampant and destructive lawlessness have had their motives questioned.
This problem is not restricted to border states like Texas, California and Arizona. From New York to Nebraska, from Florida to Washington state, American communities are feeling the effects of unprecedented illegal immigration. Conservative estimates indicate that there are at least six million illegal aliens residing permanently in the United States, and the number is growing rapidly.
Meanwhile, the interior enforcement strategy recently unveiled by the Immigration and Naturalization Service effectively gives up on removing illegal aliens from the United States. Except for a small fraction of convicted criminal aliens, illegal aliens have little or no fear that they will ever be deported.
It is widely known that once they get past the border, illegal aliens are almost never removed from the United States. This in turn encourages ever-greater waves of illegal immigration.
Obviously, this situation cannot continue. Either the President will exercise strong leadership to stem the tide and remove the illegal aliens from the United States, or the present crisis will worsen, with grave consequences.
Our witnesses today can shed light on the serious and growing negative impacts of illegal immigration. Their stories, and the stories of millions of Americans like them, deserve a response.
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