Dana Rohrabacher: “I rise today to bring everyone's attention to a provision in this pending bill which will eventually phase out section…”

“I rise today to bring everyone's attention to a provision in this pending bill which will eventually phase out section 245(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 245(i), which is a loophole for the sole benefit of illegal aliens. For the 3 years this provision has existed, 245(i) has allowed anyone in the world to come to the United States illegally, find a sponsor, and then pay the Immigration and Naturalization Service a $1,000 fee to have their illegal status changed to legal. Sixty-two percent, 62 percent, of those who benefited from 245(i) came to the United States by sneaking across our borders. The rest came here on temporary visas and overstayed them. With 245 intact, we have been talking about enforcement of our laws out of one side of our mouth and, with the other side, encouraging people to break our laws. This is what George Orwell called doublespeak in his classic novel '1984.' Although I am pleased that the Commerce-Justice-State conference has drafted a bill that will end 245(i) in the future, I still have concerns about the agreement that the conferees have come up with.”