Congressional leader urges electronic immigration checks

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 3, 2000) — The chairman of the immigration subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday renewed calls for immigration inspectors to collect a record of departure for each foreigner leaving the U.S. and match it with an arrival record.

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) said the arrests of three people with alleged terrorist connections at the Canadian border “was a loud wake-up call” that Section 110 of the U.S. Illegal Immigration Act of 1996 should be enforced.

Two years ago, the Immigration and Naturalization Service said Section 110 would not be enforced until March 2001, to give the agency more time to automate the 500 million or so immigration inspections the agency conducts each year.

The law is intended to crack down on Mexicans who overstay their visas. But when applied to Canadian truckers, even a 30-second delay per truck would bring crossborder traffic to a standstill, say critics who want Section 110 repealed.

Two bills were introduced last year that would have repealed Section 110: H.R. 1650 in the House of Representatives, sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton (RÐMich.), and S.745 in the Senate, sponsored by Sen. Spencer Abraham (RÐMich.). Both bills failed to pass before the session ended in November.

Smith said that an automated system, properly designed, would not impede trade.