Kim Reynolds: “I rise in support of H.R. 4489, the Immigration and Naturalization Service Data Management Improvement Act of 2000. This…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 4489, the Immigration and Naturalization Service Data Management Improvement Act of 2000. This measure is vital to tourism, trade and industry in Western New York State; and I am pleased to join Chairman Smith in sponsoring this legislation, and am grateful for all his hard work to ease border congestion while ensuring safety and efficiency. H.R. 4489 amends Section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, replacing the current requirement that a record of arrival and departure be collected for every alien at every point of entry. Section 110 was an attempt to identify visa overstays in the U.S. Neither Canadian nor U.S. citizens require visas. However, the implementation of this part of the law had the potential to cause more problems than it solved. In 1998 alone, there were more than 76 million entries and exits to the U.S. by Canadian citizens. Some of the largest of those crossing points are along the New York- Ontario border. In fact, Western New York is the largest port in the state of New York. More than $85 billion in goods and services moved back and forth between Western New York and Southern Ontario in 1998 alone. And about $140 million per day moves across its border crossings. It was anticipated that stopping every vehicle entering and exiting the U.S.--as Section 110 required--would have caused 30 hour crossing delays at busy international border points.”