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Immigration
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Immigration
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Records of the Office of the Press Secretary (Clinton Administration)
Mike McCurry's Files
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FOIA Number: 2011-0586-F
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the William J. Clinton
Presidential Library Staff.
Collection/Record Group:
Clinton Presidential Records
Subgroup/Office of Origin:
Press Secretary
Series/Staff Member:
Mike McCurry
Subseries:
OA/ID Number:
11102
FolderID:
Folder Title:
Immigration
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
S
94
3
10
1
immigration
10-1-96
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
EMBARGOED UNTIL SIGNING
September 30, 1996
STATEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT
I have signed into law tonight H.R. 3610, a fiscal 1997 omnibus appropriations and
immigration reform bill.
This bill is good for America, and I am pleased that my Administration could fashion
it with Congress on a bipartisan basis. It moves us further toward our goal of a balanced
budget while protecting our values and priorities -- educating our children, providing a clean
environment, fighting crime, protecting our families from drugs, and combating terrorism.
The bill restores substantial sums for education and training, fully paid for in my
balanced budget plan and furthering my agenda of life-long education to help Americans
acquire the skills they need to get good jobs in the new global economy.
It provides the funds through which Head Start can serve an additional 50,000
disadvantaged young children; fulfills my request for the Goals 2000 education reform
program to help states raise their academic standards; increases funding for the Safe and
Drug-Free Schools program, helping states educate children to reduce violence and drug
abuse; and fulfills my request for the largest Pell Grant college scholarship awards in history,
expanding the number of middle- and low-income students who receive aid by 126,000 -- to
3.8 million.
For the environment, the bill provides funds to support the Environmental Protection
Agency's early implementation of two major new environmental laws that I signed this
summer -- the Safe Drinking Water Act, and the Pesticide and Food Safety Law. At the
same time, the bill does not contain any of the riders that would have been harmful to the
environment.
For law enforcement, the bill ensures that my program to put 100,000 more police on
the streets of America's communities by the year 2000 proceeds on schedule; with this bill,
we will have provided funding for 64,000 of the 100,000 that I called for at the start of my
Administration. The bill also increases funds for Justice Department law enforcement
programs, for the FBI's crime-fighting efforts, and for new Federal prisons.
-more-
As I had urged, the bill also extends the Brady Bill to ensure that those who commit
domestic violence cannot purchase guns, rejecting efforts to weaken that proposal.
I am pleased that the bill provides $1.4 billion in funding to address my requests for
anti-drug programs. It doubles funding for Drug Courts; increases funds for drug interdiction
efforts by the Defense, Transportation, and Treasury departments; and provides the resources
to expand the Drug Enforcement Administration's domestic efforts along the Southwest border
and elsewhere.
For counter-terrorism, the bill funds my request for over $1.1 billion to fight terrorism
and to improve aviation security and safety. It enables the Justice and Treasury Departments
to better investigate and prosecute terrorist acts, and it provides funds to implement the
recommendations of Vice President Gore's Commission on Aviation Safety and Security and
the Federal Aviation Administration's recent 90-day safety review. These funds will enable
us to hire 300 more aviation security personnel, deploy new explosive detection teams, and
buy high-technology bomb detection equipment to screen luggage.
This bill also includes landmark immigration reform legislation that reinforces the
efforts we have made over the last three years to combat illegal immigration. It strengthens
the rule of law by cracking down on illegal immigration at the border, in the workplace, and
in the criminal justice system -- without punishing those living in the United States legally, or
allowing children to be kept out of schools and sent into the streets.
The bill also provides needed resources to respond to fires in the western part of the
nation and to the devastation brought by Hurricanes Fran and Hortense.
I am disappointed that one of my priorities -- a ban on physician "gag rules" -- was
not included in the bill. Several States have passed similar legislation to ensure that doctors
have the freedom to inform their patients of the full range of medical treatment options, and
Congress should have reached agreement on this measure.
Nevertheless, this bill is good for America, and I am pleased to sign it.
-30-30-30-
4.1.97
Immigration Law
April 1, 1997
Yesterday, the US District Court for the District of Columbia enjoined for four days the
enforcement of new regulations concerning the new immigration law passed in 1996. This was
inresponse to a lawsuit filed by several immigrants' rights organizations, which alleged that there
was insufficient public notice surrounding the new regulations (Those new regulations, signed into
law by the President last year, speed up deportation proceedings, among other things.) Late last
night, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit stayed the district court's injunction, thereby
allowing the regulations to go into effect.
The INS was four days late in issuing its regulations. However, the regulations were
made availabled to the public through the Federal Register well before the thirty-day
period set forth in the statute.
Delaying the implemenation of the regulations will produce mass confusion. Several
million visas are processed in any given four day period.
Drafted:
MEGlynn
Cleared:
Bert Brandenberg, DoJ
04/01/97 TUE 12:33 FAX
4.1.97
Background: Yesterday, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia
enjoined, for four days, enforcement of the regulations recently issued by the DOJ to
implement the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996
(IIRIRA). Shortly after midnight, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stayed
the district court's order. The suit, by several immigrants' rights groups, claimed that the
INS violated a requirement of the APA and IIRIRA that the regulations be promulgated at
least 30 days in advance of the April 1, 1997 effective date of IIRIRA. The Department
used an emergency procedure to expedite availability of the regulation to the public, and
believes that no rule was violated. In addition, the Department believes that allowing the
statute to go into effect without the implementing regulations would create a grave harm
to the public interest, particularly as regards the procedural protections afforded by the
regulations to aliens whom the government seeks to remove from the United States.
Q: What did the district court order?
Al The district court prohibited the INS from applying its regulations implementing the
new immigration law, but did not prohibit the statute itself from going into effect. The
court's injunction was for four days.
Q: What was the basis of the lawsuit?
A: The complaint was that the INS was four days late in issuing its regulations.
However, the regulations were made available to the public at the Federal Register
through an emergency procedure well before the thirty-day period set forth in the statute.
Q: Could the regulations have been issued sooner?
A: The implementation of this statute was a massive effort that involved, among other
things, overhauling the immigration regulations, rewriting INS procedures, revising or
replacing dozens of forms, issuing extensive guidance to the field, and training thousands
of INS officers. The statute allowed only five months to put the implementation into
place. Under this severe deadline, the INS and the Department of Justice produced a
sound set of regulations and procedures, with considerable opportunity for public input,
and put them into place in time for the statute to go into effect today. It's a considerable
accomplishment.
Q: Are the regulations now in effect?
A: Yes. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit stayed the district court's
injunction shortly after midnight. thereby allowing the regulations to go into effect.
Q: What is the status of the case?
A: A briefing schedule has not yet been set.
Contact: Eric Andrus (514-8080), INS Press Office; Brad Glassman (305-0846) or Brian
Hayes (514-4616), INS Office of the General Counsel.
12:09 (301) .10- APR
100
4.23.93
FY 1996 Legal Immigration Numbers
Contact Eric Andrus, INS, 202/514-8080
Background
The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) announced today that
915,900 persons legally immigrated to the United States in Fiscal Year 1996, a
27 percent increase over FY 1995's total of 720,461. The INS annually releases
retrospective reports on legal immigration to the United States.
Q: What is the Administration's response to this seemingly large increase?
A: The Administration has always supported legal immigration that protects
American workers, reunites families, and encourages citizenship. The yearly
fluctuations in levels of legal immigration that are evident in today's figures
are expected because of the way the law works. It accommodates yearly
changes in demand for employment-based visas, protecting American
workers from unfair competition and also providing U.S. employers with
needed skilled workers. Yearly changes in the law also reflect the mechanics
of how family reunification occurs and the pace at which immigrants seek
and achieve naturalization.
Legal immigration, supported by aggressive control of illegal immigration, is
an important part of this nation's future. As the President said in his State of
the Union address, legal immigration and the diversity that results from it
are parts of the strength of America.
Q: Does the Administration have any plans to move forward with legal
immigration reform?
A: (per Steve Warnath) Majority Leader Lott has said that he will not put any
such legislation forward this year. This view has also been voiced by Senator
Abraham, new chair of the Immigration Subcommittee. The Administration
supports appropriate improvement and reform of the nation's legal
immigration system - as long as such reform reflects the Administration's
pro-family, pro-work, pro-naturalization principles.
PR. - 22' 97 (TUE) 11:06
700 'd
6/5/97
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
For Immediate Release:
Contact: (202) 456-7035
June 4, 1997
STATEMENT OF THE VICE PRESIDENT
ON THE HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS
SUBCOMMITTEE WELFARE PROPOSAL
I am very concerned about how the proposed Republican amendments to the welfare
law would affect disabled legal immigrants. The amendments are harsh, unfair, and
unnecessary, and they violate the terms of the bipartisan balanced budget agreement by failing
to restore a minimal safety net for these individuals.
The Republican proposal is unfair to families of limited means. In failing to restore
benefits for SSI beneficiaries whose sponsors have incomes over 150 percent of the poverty
level, it would cut off 100,000 severely disabled immigrants who would receive benefits under
the budget agreement. A family of four with an income as low as $24,000 would have to fully
support a person with a severe disability.
The Republican proposal also fails to protect SSI and Medicaid benefits for legal
immigrants who were in the United States as of August 23, 1996 and later become disabled.
As a result, it violates a key provision in the budget agreement that was designed to target
assistance to the most vulnerable individuals.
The provisions affecting disabled legal immigrants were an important element of the
budget agreement, and the Administration worked hard to secure them. We expect both sides
PHOTOCOPY
PRESERVATION
to adhere to them.
###
Message Sent To:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: (202) 456-7035
Thursday, June 5, 1997
VICE PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES WELFARE-TO-WORK COMMITMENTS
OF DEPARTMENTS, MAJOR AGENCIES
Washington, D.C. -- Vice President Al Gore today (6/5) announced the commitment of
each Cabinet department and major agency to hire specific numbers of welfare recipients over the
next four years.
The commitments, outlined in the Vice President's new pamphlet -- Federal Welfare-To-
Work Commitments, A Report to President Bill Clinton -- will ensure that the Federal
Government meets the President's goal of hiring 10,000 welfare recipients over the next four
years.
"All employers, including the federal government, have a role to play in moving people
from welfare to work," the Vice President said. The report which I am releasing today
demonstrates how the Federal government will do its fair share and lead by example."
The report stresses four elements necessary for any organization to succeed in hiring and
retaining welfare recipients.
A leadership commitment tailored to the mission and culture of the organization.
Energy Secretary Frederico Peña, for example, is holding a one-day workshop of his
department's managers. Defense Secretary William Cohen has committed to hire 1,600
welfare recipients and will send a personal request to individual leaders in the contractor
community.
Recruitment strategies that target the right person for the right job. Agencies will
send job announcements to social service offices, private industry councils, and one-stop
career centers. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt will build on the success of current
programs like the Youth Conservation Corps and the recruitment strategies of the Bureau
of Indian Affairs, and he has outlined a recruitment process that identifies eight work
categories and associated skills needed for them.
Retention policies like supervisory training, mentoring, child care and
transportation support. Labor Secretary Alexis Herman has created a free resource
guide and training packages for those hiring welfare recipients and has offered to provide
technical assistance in the field. This training was developed by studying the best practices
of the most successful welfare-to-work programs in the country.
A commitment to leverage hiring with partners in the public and private sectors.
Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater is encouraging private sector transportation
employers to make a commitment to hire welfare recipients.
On May 29, the Vice President announced the creation of a Welfare-to-Work Coalition to
Sustain Success that will help welfare recipients keep the jobs they find. Studies have shown that
large numbers of welfare recipients lost the jobs they get within 12 to 16 months. Working with
federal and state offices, private organizations, and business, members of the coalition will identify
available resources and provide support that new workers need most to retain jobs -- mentoring,
advice, and other support.
Copies of the report are available by calling the National Performance Review at (202)
632-0150 or on the website (w2w.fed.gov).
###