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Floor Speech

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Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, the Gang of 8 in their framework for comprehensive immigration reform said the following:

Our legislation will provide a tough, fair, and practical roadmap to address the status of unauthorized immigrants in the United States that is contingent upon our success in securing our borders and addressing visa overstays.

It sounds good, doesn't it? They said their plan would be contingent upon success.

But the bill doesn't do that. The bill doesn't say the border has to be secured. It doesn't say that we need to see results. It only throws more money at the problem and puts more boots on the ground. Of course, that is a good start. But as we have seen before, that is not enough. It is not enough to ensure we will not be back here in the same place 25 years down the road, devising new plans. So I am going to take a few minutes to discuss the legalization program created in this bill.

Since I was here in 1986, I know that loopholes allowed people to gain legalization even if they weren't entitled to it. We had problems with fraud and abuse back then, and I am afraid it will be the same if the bill is passed in its current form.

Time and time again we have been told the bill will allow people here illegally to register and earn legal status, then become contributing members of society. Yet the bill fails to address how to prevent a continued influx of individuals who will replace those currently living in the shadows.

Take the CBO report as an example. CBO said illegal immigration would only be reduced by 25 percent. That is not acceptable, especially given the promise of the Gang of 8 that the bill would ``be a successful permanent reform to our immigration system that will not need to be revisited.''

The legalization program begins upon the mere admission of a strategy submitted by the Secretary of Homeland Security. So almost immediately, millions of people will come forward and be made lawful.

Remarkably, the bill virtually suspends enforcement during the 2 1/2 -year legalization application period. It prohibits law enforcement from detaining
or removing anyone claiming eligibility without any requirement to prove they are, in fact, eligible. Law enforcement is even required to inform those here illegally about legalization and give them the opportunity to apply.

Under the bill, undocumented immigrants already here can apply for and receive legal status, even if they have committed document fraud, provided false statements to authorities, and absconded court-ordered removal proceedings.

During this time, there is an enforcement holiday. Enforcement officers would be limited in detaining or removing any individual who merely claims eligibility for RPI status, regardless of whether there is proof to back that up.

Perhaps the enforcement holiday would be mildly concerning if we were dealing with individuals who only violated civil immigration laws. Unfortunately, the bill extends to those with criminal records. This includes individuals who have gang affiliations, even felony arrests, and even multiple misdemeanor criminal convictions.

Moreover, the bill permits individuals who attain legalization to continue criminal behavior, so long as their behavior and subsequent convictions remain below the eligibility threshold. In fact, the bill goes even further and--can you believe this--provides the Secretary with waiver authority in order to dismiss misdemeanor criminal convictions for purposes of determining eligibility for legal status.

The bill does not limit those outside the country from applying for legalization. The bill states that individuals who have previously been deported or otherwise removed from the country are ineligible for RPI status. However, one need only turn a few pages to discover that the Secretary has sole, as well as unreviewable, discretion to waive this provision and permit large classes of individuals to apply for legalization.

There is yet another way of providing and allowing individuals who have been removed or reentered illegally to apply for status, if they are fortunate enough to have a relative who does, in fact, qualify for legalization. This weakens and undermines even current law where Congress has already declared that individuals who reenter illegally are not entitled to immigration benefits.

Amendments to prohibit those ordered removed, those currently in removal proceedings, and those who have absconded and failed to show up for removal proceedings from applying or being granted legal status were voted down during committee considerations.

An amendment to prevent spousal abusers, child abusers, drunk drivers, and other serious criminals from obtaining legal status was also rejected.

I know the public listening or reading these records will not believe that Congress could do those things, that it is OK to have those people with that sort of criminal activity being legalized, but that is what the bill allows. These amendments also could have been voted on during floor debate, but the majority refused to allow their consideration.

Now, the process for obtaining legalization is ripe for abuse and potentially encourages crafty behavior for individuals to game the system.

Under the bill, individuals applying for legal status are permitted to file numerous amended applications in the event their initial application is denied for failure to complete properly or provide required documentation. In practice, one could continue to file numerous amended applications, knowing each application is incomplete, resulting in a perpetual limbo where an individual can remain here for an indeterminate time without any possibility of removal.

Another area of potential abuse permits otherwise ineligible individuals to remain indefinitely in the United States.

The bill provides for a stay of removal until a newly created administrative appellate review process of the application has been exhausted. One need only imagine the vast loophole created that will allow ineligible applicants to remain in the United States pending a typically extremely lengthy review process.

When combined with a never ending application process and an expansive, time consuming appeals process, individuals can remain here for years without ever obtaining legal status, and without any fear of removal.

Under the bill, people with RPI status must prove that they have been employed during the duration of their status. Yet, the bill allows people to prove that employment--which is required to get a green card--using merely a sworn affidavit.

We know from our 1986 experience that sworn affidavits are highly unreliable, and incentivize massive fraud. They are not verifiable or trustworthy.

A New York Times article from 1988 shows just how easy it was for immigrants to get false affidavits. During one investigation, the Immigration and Naturalization Service arrested seven people for selling fraudulent affidavits to new immigrants.

One of these seven fraudsters ran a scheme that sold affidavits to 1,400 people here illegally. They had thousands more applications filled out and waiting for others. In fact, while investigators were on site seizing the evidence, dozens of individuals arrived to purchase more fraudulent affidavits. Buying and selling fake documents was a thriving business and can be again.

According to the article, one person arrested had 364 fraudulent affidavits on her five-acre farm.

A third of these fraudsters went from farm to farm, offering false affidavits to farmers for prices from $950 to $3,000.

The Majority has rejected several amendments that would improve on the 1986 legalization. That is unfortunate. The bill will lead to further fraud. It is my hope these provisions can still be fixed before any bill is sent to the President.

I yield the floor.

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