Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 3, 1990 TAG: 9006030067
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The panel proposes creation of an independent Agency for Migration Affairs, to consolidate responsibilities now divided among the Justice, State and Labor departments.
In a report to be submitted to President Bush and Congress in July, the panel also will recommend a new strategy to curtail illegal immigration: using foreign aid to promote economic growth in those areas of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean that have sent the most migrants to the United States.
The 12-member panel is headed by Diego C. Asencio, a former ambassador to Brazil and Colombia, who was assistant secretary of state for consular affairs from 1980 to 1983.
The advisory panel, the Commission for the Study of International Migration and Cooperative Economic Development, was established by Congress under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The members were appointed by Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Their recommendations were based on public hearings in the United States, consultations with the presidents of seven Latin American countries and research done for the commission by more than 70 scholars.
The new agency would not be under the control of a Cabinet department and would be able to set policy independently of the president. It would take over most Immigration and Naturalization Service activities, including reviewing petitions for citizenship, asylum and other benefits under the immigration law.
The new agency also would take over two tasks performed by the State Department: the admission of refugees and the issuance of visas to millions of visitors and immigrants.
by CNB