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Chairman Burton to Review the International Aspects of Illegal Immigration; Specific Focus on the Regional Response

7/24/2006 5:55:00 PM


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To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor

Contact: Kirsti Garlock of the House Committee on International Relations, 202-225-5021

News Advisory:

Congressman Dan Burton (R-Ind.), chairman of the House International Relations' Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, has scheduled a hearing to examine the regional aspects of illegal immigration and ways in which to increase the involvement of Western Hemisphere countries. "Illegal immigration is a complex international issue, and the source, transit, and recipient countries all have a stake in finding solutions," Burton said. "One important aspect of the current debate which has not garnered the attention of the national headlines has been the regional aspects of illegal immigration, and how the countries affected by illegal immigration -- particularly the United States, Mexico, and El Salvador -- are responding to narrow the economic development gap and take cooperative measures to fix this growing logistical and security crisis.

"With Mexican nationals now accounting for more than half of the estimated 12 million illegal aliens residing in the United States, and with 20 percent of El Salvador's population now living in the United States, illegal immigration reform is a Western Hemisphere problem that requires a Western Hemisphere solution. If we are to secure America's borders and achieve this important homeland security objective, we need to do so with our friends and partners in the Western Hemisphere," Burton continued.

"We have already begun the process of working with our friends by launching the Partnership for Prosperity (P4P) and the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), but more needs to be done to stem the tide of illegal aliens into the United States in the short-term, as well as to pave the way towards a long-term, coordinated and legal immigration plan for our Hemisphere," Burton concluded.

WHAT:

Subcommittee Oversight Hearing: "Immigration: Responding to a Regional Crisis"

Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere

U.S. Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), Chairman

WHEN: Wednesday, July 26, 2 P.M.

WHERE: 2172 Rayburn House Office Building

WITNESSES: Panel I: The Honorable Cresencio Arcos, Assistant Secretary, Office of International Affairs, Office of Policy, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Ms. Elizabeth A. Whitaker, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Mr. Mark Silverman, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, United States Agency for International Development; Panel II: The Honorable Robert Charles, President, The Charles Group, LLC; Mr. Eric Farnsworth, Vice President, Council of the Americas; and Manuel Orozco, Ph.D., Senior Associate, Remittances and Rural Development Program, American Dialogue.

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