Posted to FEAR-List by Kathy Bergman, 5/5/95

President Clinton has proposed anti-immigration legislation which, in addition to providing hundreds of guards for U.S. borders and speeding deportation of illegal immigrants, authorizes seizing property used in smuggling immigrants.

The bill represents the latest in a series of steps intended to make the borders less penetrable while quieting the anger of people who see illegal immigrants as competitors for jobs, a drain on state and local resources and a cause of higher taxes.

Provisions include increased penalties for a range of immigration offenses, including alien smuggling. One of the many provisions of the bill permits property employed in immigrant smuggling to be seized and forfeited.

The bill also authorizes a border services user fee to permit more inspectors to be hired at the nation's busiest ports of entry.