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December 16, 2005

U.S. House Approves Norwood CLEAR Act

Criminal Illegal Aliens Could Face 700,000 Additional Police in 2006

(Washington, DC) – A nearly three-year lobbying campaign to address America’s criminal alien crisis won a big victory tonight in the U.S. House of Representatives with passage of the major provisions of the CLEAR Act, HR 3137, by U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA) as Amendment 65 to the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, HR 4437.

The Amendment passed by a 237-180 bipartisan margin. The overall bill, HR 4437, is expected to be sent to conference with Senate immigration reform legislation, and if the two Houses agree to a final bill, the CLEAR Act provisions could become law sometime next year.

“This is a tremendous win for public safety and the ability of state and local law enforcement across the country to effectively fight violent criminal illegal aliens,� Norwood says.

CLEAR – the Clear Law Enforcement for Criminal Alien Removal Act – removes all legal doubt that local law enforcement agencies are approved to enforce federal immigration law during the course of routine duties.

CLEAR also provides full federal funding for immigration law enforcement training, increases existing federal funding for local enforcement costs in dealing with criminal illegal immigrants (SCAAP), mandates that information on criminal aliens be placed in the National Criminal Information Center database (NCIC), and requires all states to comply with the Institutional Removal Program to automatically deport illegal aliens convicted of crimes following their jail terms.

The CLEAR Act was considered by friend and foe to be one of the most powerful potential reforms in fighting illegal immigration. Currently, illegal aliens who make it past the border are largely able to disappear in immigrant communities, as only 2,000 federal officers are able to track down 460,000 criminal aliens each year, rendering effective enforcement virtually impossible. The CLEAR Act amendments allow an additional 700,000 state and local officers to join the fight.

“There is no way 2,000 ICE agents can track down 400,000 CRIMINAL aliens of whom 85,000 are violent felons, and to which we’re adding 40,000 new thugs every year,� Norwood told fellow members on the House floor. “That’s impossible. To plan on just 2,000 ICE agents to do these jobs is to plan to fail. We have to start planning to win. Instead of limiting our odds to 2 thousand ICE agents versus millions of illegal aliens, we should add in our 700,000 state and

local police in reserve.�

The CLEAR Act has already been introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), and Norwood says he will now push members of that body to either approve the Sessions bill or agree to the House Amendment in conference action.

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NORWOOD AMENDMENT

TO HR 4437

“Not all illegal aliens come across the border for jobs�

Congressional testimony on April 13th of this year produced some important anecdotal evidence of the need for this sort of data.

Before the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Marsha Garst, a local prosecutor in the Shenandoah Valley (VA) indicated that gangs there are nearly 75% composed of illegal aliens.

She also related that a number of the illegal alien gang members had been previously deported -- proving that we’re not doing our job on the borders.

A second witness at the same hearing indicated that a confidential California Department of Justice study from 1995 said that 60% of the 20,000 member 18th Street Gang in Southern California is illegal.

Also that the leadership of the Columbian Lil’ Cycos gang, who control some drug markets in L.A., was about 60% illegal in 2002.

ICE officials put the number of illegals among MS-13 members at simply “a majority�.

A recent Fort Worth Star-Telegram article from this week noted some startling statistics:

Of the 1.2 million illegal immigrants apprehended nationwide entering the U.S. over the past year, fingerprint checks revealed that more than 26,000 were linked to major crimes.

More than 4.5 million people have been arrested trying to enter the U.S. illegally since January 2001, and of that number 350,000 had criminal records.

Of the 32,625 alien absconders caught by the National Fugitive Operations Program started in March 2003, nearly HALF – 15,338 – were immigrant criminals. 5,300 were drug offenses.

The Norwood CLEAR Amendment # to HR 4437

In order to assist in the enforcement of immigration laws, the Norwood Amendment to HR 4437 would provide State and local law enforcement three necessary things: authority, information, and resources. Taken together, our efforts to deal with criminal illegal aliens would be dramatically improved as would cooperation and partnership between federal and state and local law enforcement.

Why is the Norwood Amendment Needed?

Over 400,000 alien absconders and more than 85,000 criminal illegal aliens are in our country, and we need to devote our best men and women and full resources to the problem.

The horrible sorts of criminal acts committed by illegal aliens are many times fully preventable - IF we take the necessary measures to allow police to do their job, and then properly equip them to do so.

But like a 3-legged stool, law enforcement needs all of these important tenets - authority, information and resources - to accomplish this critical goal in the right way.

State and Local Law Enforcement Authority and Training

(this language passed as part of the DHS Authorization Act, HR 1817, roll call #185)

This amendment would clarify and definitively state the existing authority of State and local enforcement personnel in assisting in the enforcement of immigration laws during their routine course of duty.

This last phrase “in the routine course of duty� is critical. This amendment does not somehow “deputize� State and local law enforcement to go out and enforce immigration laws. We have appropriate - if undermanned and underfunded - federal law enforcement for this effort.

Additional language would protect victims or witnesses of crime from being arrested or reported. We are not driving a wedge between law enforcement and immigrant communities - rather we are promoting law and order in those same communities, which is where criminal aliens often attack their victims.

This authority has always existed, despite some confusion, and if a law enforcement officer or agency has contact with an illegal alien performing a criminal act, then they ought to be assured they have the authority to take appropriate action. The confusion for law enforcement simply needs to end.

The amendment would also require the Department of Homeland Security to establish a training manual and pocket guide for law enforcement on this matter, and sets forth simple guidelines for making that training available at no cost to local agencies.

Imagine if State and local law enforcement chose not to enforce federal drug laws? Or if highway patrol were confused about speed limits on federal interstates? The only area of law that State and local law enforcement aren’t prepared to enforce is immigration law. This must change.

Information/NCIC

(this language passed the House as part of HR 1279, the Gang Deterrence and Community Protection Act)

Under this amendment, DHS would be required to provide to the National Crime Information Center of the DoJ information on four categories of illegal aliens: those with a final order of removal, those who have signed a voluntary departure agreement, those who have overstayed their visa, and those who have had their visa revoked.

The NCIC is commonly used by all types of law enforcement agencies nationwide and is available 24 hours a day.

More than one-third of our illegal alien population has overstayed their visa - this bill would have real enforcement ability if State and local police have access to criminal illegal alien information through this proven, existing system.

A number of the 9/11 hijackers who had run-ins with law enforcement were on overstayed visas, including Mohammed Atta, the chief planner of the attack. Sheik Omar Rahman, spiritual leader of the World Trade Center bombers and the separate plot to bomb New York City landmarks, was also an overstayed visa.

Resources and Funding

In order for State and local police to assist in the enforcement of immigration law, they need additional resources.

This amendment would increase funding and resources for law enforcement in three ways:

the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) authorization would be increased to $1 billion;

the Institutional Removal Program, which identifies criminal illegal aliens, would be made mandatory with increased authorization levels;

a new, GAO-audited grant program authorized at $250 million for technology, facilities, or equipment for States and localities with the policy in place to assist in the enforcement of immigration law.

This amendment would also give States and localities that refuse to comply with current law regarding allowing law enforcement to assist in the enforcement of immigration law in the routine course of duty 2 full years to come into compliance or risk losing State Criminal Alien Assistance Program funds.