8 October 1999

Repeal INS law, group requests

The following article is excerpted from "The Journal of Commerce" issue of 8 October 1999.

A business group wants Congress to repeal a law ]that it says would tie up border traffic by requiring immigration officials to electronically check all foreign visitors at border points.

The business group, Americans for Better Borders, says the law could delay truck entries by two to 20 hours, depending on the entry point.

The group is pushing for a repeal of Section 110 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, a far-reaching law to reform U.S. immigration policy.

Section 110 requires the Immigration and Naturalization Service to introduce an automated system at land borders by March 30, 2001, to record departures and entries of all foreign visitors.

Americans for Better Borders is a 2-year-old group that includes about 200 companies, various state and local governments and the Canadian and Mexican governments.

"Section 110 at land ports of entry would cause massive traffic congestion along our borders, bringing personal and business travel at many border points to a halt," Peter Iovino, a representative of Ford Motor Co., and Randel Johnson, of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, wrote in a Sept. 23 letter to President Clinton. Iovino and Johnson are co-chairs of the border group.

Congress is considering a bill that would repeal the provision, said Ali Cleveland, associate manager of labor policy for the border coalition. The Senate has approved the legislation, and it awaits House-Senate negotiations on a version that both houses would vote on, she said.

The principal congressional backer of the bill is Sen. Spencer Abraham, R-Mich. Opponents include Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas.

The repeal also faces opposition from a broad alliance of grass-roots groups that favor more immigration limits, said Dan Stein, executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, Washington.

"If 110 is repealed, it would be a real victory for international terrorists, drug smugglers and illegal immigration smugglers," Stein said.

"All these allegations about backups and long lines are being manufactured by Washington lobbyists in Gucci loafers," he said.

Those seeking a repeal of Section 110 cite a recent test of a proposed border reporting that the Immigration and Naturalization Service conducted in Georgia using radio frequency technology.

"From this presentation it was clear that the INS does not have the capability to implement an entry-exit control system that would not impede trade and tourism," said the letter.

But an INS spokeswoman said this assessment is premature, because the agency is still developing the system....

The system is intended to fight the problem of foreigners who overstay their U.S. visa. At least 2 million of the 5 million or more illegal immigrants currently in the United States are overstayers, according to Rep. Smith.

"Visa overstayers fail to depart because they know that the Immigration and Naturalization Service has no way to tell whether most leave the country," said Smith in a statement.

The proposed system would issue cards to all foreign visitors listing basic facts of their visa status. Immigration officials at border points would check the cards electronically, using a reading device.

The system would apply to truck crews, which has drawn attention from cargo interests opposing the bill.