Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2007 -- (House of Representatives - May 25, 2006)

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Mr. DOOLITTLE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, expedited removal is an important tool which should be used on all illegal aliens, and that is why I am proposing in my legislation H.R. 5457, to overturn something known as the Orantes injunction. I cannot offer that as an amendment to this bill. It would be legislating on an appropriations bill, but I would like to briefly explain the injunction.

In 1988 in the midst of a 12-year civil war, the Federal District Court of Los Angeles issued an injunction which prohibited Salvadorans from being deported without a hearing before an immigration judge. This injunction is known as the Orantes injunction.

The civil war on El Salvador has long since ended; however, the Orantes injunction issued nearly 20 years ago has not been overturned and remains the practice today. Expansion of expedited removal has resulted in significant declines in the amount of apprehensions of other nationalities. However, due to the special treatment afforded to Salvadorans, their apprehensions have continued to rise.

This injunction is no longer warranted. El Salvador has been a country at peace since 1992. Under current expedited removal process, aliens are not automatically entitled to such a hearing and are immediately placed in the removal proceedings. In 2005, over 39,000 Salvadorans were apprehended, and current estimates suggest out of every one caught, four to five Salvadoran illegals penetrate our borders.

Mr. Tancredo referred to the terrible problem with the MS-13 gangs, which are basically the Salvadoran gangs. It is a serious problem. Secretary Chertoff, the Homeland Security Secretary, has voiced his concern over this practice and he has indicated, ``We have one big step left in order to complete this job and that is to get rid of a 20-year court order that is hampering our ability to use expedited removal with respect to people from El Salvador.''

The Department of Homeland Security is subject to a number of such court-ordered permanent injunctions beyond Orantes issued in immigration cases as long as 30 years ago, and these long-standing injunctions severely impact the enforcement of the immigration laws.

My colleague, Representative Bonilla, is also sponsoring legislation that deals with these various injunctions, including Orantes, and his legislation should be supported as well.

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