Statement by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA). Re: Immigration and Naturalization Service delays. Event: Congressional field hearing in San Jose, CA. Date: February 25, 2000. Source: Office of Zoe Lofgren.

I'd like to thank my colleagues Representatives Lofgren and Farr for calling this very important field hearing. Because of a long-standing commitment I'm not able to join you today.

I trust that the testimony of the witnesses will bring to light the problems that Congressional offices are facing when dealing with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.

My District Office faces many of the same problems as those of Representatives Lofgren and Farr.

My office hears regularly from green card holders whose applications for citizenship have been with the INS for three years or longer.

There should be little or no disparity in the processing delays between the San Francisco District Office and the San Jose District Office. This should also be the case of the Omaha District Office and the San Jose District Office and if it is not, the INS should be flexible enough to bring more staff to higher volume offices. The inflexibility of the INS to adjust paralyzes the caseloads and I believe we can do much, much better.

Together with my colleagues, I've consistently argued for an increase in staff at the San Jose District Office. Today's hearing underscores and highlights once again this great need.

The San Jose Immigration Office Congressional Liaison Officer is in an impossible position of serving five Congressional offices with little or no assistance.

The San Jose INS office is operating with low levels of staffing when it requires so much more. Most troubling to me is that after dealing with the local INS office, immigrants and citizens alike are left with an increasingly negative attitude about the Federal government and the work we do on their behalf. The current situation is terribly unfair to the staff because their burdens are too great to handle.

This poor service is sending the worst message possible to impressionable immigrants that are in the process of becoming citizens of our great nation.

We should be “putting out the welcome mat;” instead we're providing poor customer service, long lines, and even longer waits. And although I think this is unacceptable, I think there is a solution.

After making a request for assistance for the Congressional liaison, I was gratified to hear my staff's report of Tuesday's INS briefing. The steps that the San Jose office has taken to address the issue of inadequate service are welcome and a good beginning. I look forward to hearing what further changes the INS intends to make at the San Jose District Office to resolve the critical problems the witnesses will raise and which the Congressional offices continue to experience.

Once again, I thank Representatives Lofgren and Farr for conducting this needed hearing and I look forward to receiving a full briefing on the hearing from my staff who are in attendance today.