Leahy Border-Crossing Bill Clears Congress Legislation protects commerce, prevents travel delays along Northern Border

May 25, 2000

WASHINGTON (May 25) – A bill cosponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) to replace a potentially disastrous immigration law provision which would hurt Vermont commerce and tourism passed the Senate Thursday. The Abraham-Leahy bill also has passed the House and now goes to the president's desk. Leahy said the president will sign the bill.

Eliminating Section 110 -- a controversial part of a 1996 immigration bill -- has long been a priority of Leahy's. Leahy and Sen. Spencer Abraham (R.-Mich.) have been working together to craft a compromise to the existing provision which would have required INS agents to stop every vehicle or person entering or leaving the United States. Section 110 was intended to track those who stay in the United States longer than their visas allow, but the potentially long delays at points-of-entry, Leahy warned, would have terrible consequences for Vermont's Northern Border economy.

Leahy said that some of the $2.4 billion in goods and services shipped annually from Vermont to Canada and the nearly $120 million that Canadians spend in Vermont each year would have been held hostage by long and costly travel delays.

"This is the permanent solution we have been worked years to achieve," said Leahy. "It allows us to keep track of the flow of foreign nationals entering and leaving the United States without crippling commerce or our important relationship with Canada. This bill recognizes that the citizens along the Northern Border have a special relationship that should not be harmed by new, heavy-handed paperwork."

The new legislation requires the Attorney General to implement a new data system, which will rely on information already collected under current law, meaning that travel across U.S. borders will not be adversely affected by long travel delays.