BACKGROUND PAPER ON CURRENT STATUS OF THE IMMIGRATION REFORM LEGISLATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85M00364R001903660020-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 6, 2008
• Sequence Number: 20
• Publication Date: April 20, 1983
• Content Type: MEMO

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April 20, 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR: Cabinet Council on Legal Policy
FROM: William French Smith
Attorney General
SUBJECT: Background Paper on Current Status
of the Immigration Reform Legislation
This memorandum sets forth the current status of immi-
gration reform legislation in the 98th Congress.
Historical Overview
Following receipt of the Final Report of the Select
Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy in March of 1981,
the President established a Cabinet Task Force, chaired by the
Attorney General, to study the Commission?s recommendations
for comprehensive immigration reform. Based on that review
the Administration submitted a legislative package of immi-
gration reform proposals to the Congress in October of 1981
which embodied the most important recommendations of the
Select Commission.
The principal provisions of the Administration bill were
(1) penalties on employers who knowingly hire illegal aliens,
(2) legal status for illegal aliens who were in the U.S.
before January 1, 1980, (3) an expanded temporary foreigr
worker program where domestic workers are unavailable, (4)
reform of our procedures to return persons who enter the U.S.
illegally, (5) expanded legal authorities to deal with mass-
arrivals of undocumented aliens, and (6) increased legal
immigrant admissions for Canada and Mexico.
After extensive hearings on the Administration bill,
Senator Simpson and Congressman Mazzoli, the Chairmen of the
Senate and House Immigration Subcommittees, respectively, in
March of 1982 introduced their own immigration reform legis-
lation which incorporated most of the Administration's pro-
posals. The most significant exception to that incorporation
was the deletion of the Administration's mass immigration
emergency plan. At the Cabinet Council meeting on April 16,
1982, it was decided, that the Simpson-Mazzoli bill would
become the Administration's vehicle for immigration reform.
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Thereafter, on August 17, 1 c,E2 S . Senate passed a
substantially unchanged Simpson-Mazzoli bill on an over-
whelming, bipartisan vote of 80-19. The following month the
House Committee on the Judiciary reported its amended version
of the legislation to the House floor where-it became.;stalled
during the post-election "lame duck" session.
On February 17, 1983 Senator Simpson introduced the
Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1983, S. 529, an identi-
cal bill to the legislation which passed the Senate in the
97th Congress. On the same date Congressman Mazzoli in-
troduced H.R. 1510, identical in all major respects to the
reform legislation reported by the House Committee on the
Judiciary.
Expedited hearing schedules were established by both the
Senate and House Immigration Subcommittees. The Senate
hearings commenced on February 24th and lasted four days.
Several Administration witnesses testified in support of the
legislation including the Attorney General and Diego Asencio
of the Department of State. On the House side three weeks of
hearings began on March 1 ultimately accumulating 26 hours of
testimony, including generally supportive statements, from an
expanded list of Administration witnesses.
During the week of April 4, 1983 both the Senate and
House Immigration Subcommittees completed mark-up on their
respective bills. The Senate bill was reported to full
Committee on a voice vote and House Subcommittee passage was
accomplished on a gratifying 7-i vote.
Most recently, on April 19th, the Senate Committee on the
Judiciary completed its consideration of S. 529 and reported
it favorably to the full Senate on a.13-4 vote. Floor action
has tentatively been scheduled for April 28 but other
scheduling priorities and'bill report printing requirements
could easily cause that date to slip. The dates for full
Committee and floor action in the House are unknown at this
time although the former could occur as early as the first
week in May.
Significant Remaining Issues
The immigration reform issues which remain problematic
principally reflect the differences between the Senate and
House bills. One of the most significant of those issues is
the appropriate mechanism for assisting state and local
governments with the costs which arise as the newly legalized
residents access welfare programs. The Senate bill takes the
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strongly preferred approach of establishing a block grant/
impact aid program by which the Administration would be
committed to fund at $1.1 billion for four years. The House'
bill authorizes the.Federal government to reimburse 100% of
all State and local welfare programs for those legalized
including educational expenses. OMB has estimated that the
four year cost of this approach would be $4.8 billion for
welfare expenditures and $2.5 billion for educational program
support.
A corrollary to this issue is whether to advance the
legalization eligibility date in light of the fact the immi-
gration reform effort is one year.older. The House Immi-
gration Subcommittee has already brought this issue into sharp
focus by adopting a 1981 "one tier" legalization program with
a four year federal benefit ineligibility. The Senate bill
maintains last year's Administration supported "Grassley
compromise" which provides permanent resident status for
eligible aliens who continuously resided in the United States
since before 1/1/77 and temporary resident. status for such
aliens who arrived here before 1980 with adjustment to
permanent status after three years. In the Senate ineligi-
bility for federal benefits would extend for three years from
the time permanent resident status was obtained. .
To date we have consistently opposed advancing the
eligibility date both on equity grounds and from the point of
view of limiting federal outlays. Our argument has been that
legalization is not intended to give legal status to all
illegal aliens but only to those who have demonstrated a
commitment to this country by long term continuous residence
as contributing, self-sufficient members of their community.
Any other standard would be unfair to our legal residents and
to legal immigrants waiting patiently in line, often for
years, to obtain immigrant visas. Every effort will be made
ultimately to obtain the legalization program outlined in the
Senate bill.
Another contentious issue is the appropriate mechanism
for assisting agricultural employers who have become dependent
on an illegal migratory workforce. Both the Senate and House
bills establish a more streamlined statutory H-2 program for
agricultural workers. Following Subcommittee mark-up the
House bill also contains a supplementary program permitting
agricultural employers to hire "undocumented" workers, subject
to numerical limitations established by the Attorney General,
for a three-year "transition" period. The Senate has also
expressed interest in this proposal and it is certain to be
considered as a floor amendment.
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The Administration's position has been that the "com-
promise" package of H-2 "streamlining" amendments, ratified by
the April 16, 1982 Cabinet Council meeting, would provide
sufficient statutory assurance of a workable program for
obtaining foreign workers where domestic workers are
unavailable. However, we will closely monitor the discussions
which are ongoing between agricultural and labor interests on
the transition program concept to insure that our operational
concerns are addressed.
Two other important, though less problematic, differences
between the Senate and House bills should be mentioned. The
first is the changes in our current system for legal
immigration contained in the Senate bill principally the
"overall cap" of 425,000 on legal immigration including
immediate relatives. The House bill, at the insistence of
Chairman Rodino, specifically rejects changes in our current
preference system. The Administration has likewise argued
that changes in our legal immigration system should be
deferred until after we have addressed the more urgent problem
of uncontrolled illegal migration. Indications are that that
view will prevail in conference and significant other portions
of the Senate bill may well be obtained in exchange.
The second "second tier" issue concerns the Senate and
House treatment of our current overburdened adjudication and
asylum system. The Senate bill provides for more streamlined
procedures which promise some finality in judgments while the
House procedures are in several particulars even more cumber-
some than current law. Attempts will be made to narrow the
gap by amending the House bill and strong efforts will be made
to have our preference for the Senate procedures prevail.
Prospects
The introduction of bills already considered by both
Houses and the early mark-up schedules have brightened
considerably the prospects for final enactment of a com-
prehensive immigration reform bill. Likewise nationwide
editorial support and public opinion as evidenced in opinion
polls will encourage Congressional'action. Nevertheless", it
is generally agreed that enactment will need to take place
during the first session of the 98th Congress as the second
session will in all probability be dominated by Presidential
politics.
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