(Washington, D.C., The Capitol Steps) The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) today charged New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith with sponsoring “a blanket amnesty program which will only increase illegal immigration and undermine U.S. efforts to control the border.” The bill ( H.R. 2722) would expand the amnesty granted to Cubans and Nicaraguans in 1997 to include hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens from El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti and Honduras.

“This would set a terrible precedent to eventually grant an amnesty to all illegal aliens in the U.S.,” commented FAIR executive director Dan Stein. “This legislation betrays the trust of the American people, who were promised in 1986 that no more amnesties would be given to those who deliberately break our immigration laws,” added Stein.

In 1997, Congress passed the NACARA act, which granted permanent residence to Nicaraguans and Cubans who came illegally to the United States and refused to leave despite being found ineligible for asylum. Smith's bill, the Central American and Haitian Parity Act of 1999, would grant similar legal status to thousands of others whose claims to asylum have been rejected.

“This bill would override the definition of who qualifies for asylum for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens,” commented Stein. He noted that the recipients, many of whom have been here since the 1980s, have abused the humanitarian concern of the United States by refusing to return home despite the restoration of peace in their countries.”

The INS estimates that currently, well over 5 million illegal aliens are residing in the United States. The controversial amnesty bill enacted in 1986 gave permanent resident status to about 3 million illegal aliens. Rather than leading to a restoration of the legal immigration process, events since then have demonstrated that it only led to growing disregard and contempt for our immigration laws. Since the 1986 amnesty, the illegal alien population has grown faster than ever.

“Passing another amnesty, instead of focusing on real solutions like interior enforcement, visa control and deportation, only sends the signal abroad that it’s ok to sneak in and wait for the next amnesty,” Stein added. "Why is Congressman Smith proposing that we continue using ‘solutions’ that only aggravate illegal immigration?"

FAIR 10/99