José E. Serrano: “Mr. Chairman, as we can notice by the amendments that have been submitted here today, there are two issues that are…”

“Mr. Chairman, as we can notice by the amendments that have been submitted here today, there are two issues that are being discussed. One is the belief by many of us that in fact the bill presented by the majority strikes down most if not all of the protections of the fourth amendment. But in addition, some agencies have been singled out by these amendments because they are, unfortunately, agencies with either a reputation of misusing their power or, and in most cases, a reputation of striking fear into the hearts of hard-working, law-abiding American citizens and in many cases, or in most cases, both. There is no reason that one can imagine why an American citizen or a resident of this country should be afraid of any of its Federal agencies. Yet that is the case in so many instances. That is why today you have seen people discussing so many different agencies. The INS is, in many neighborhoods in this country, at the top of the list of the kind of an agency that can strike fear into the hearts of people.”