1 President Clinton stressed his administration's commitment to the fight against illegal immigration Tuesday and urged Congress to approve new package of initiatives to do more.
2 'It is wrong and ultimately self-defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws that we have seen,' Clinton said. 'There is too much of it, and we must do much more to stop it.'
3 Immigration initiatives that Clinton proposed Monday in his 1996 budget would add dlrs 1 billion in new spending to reinforce the Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, speed up deportations and provide money for border states.
4 'We need help from the Congress to implement this plan,' Clinton told reporters at the White House.
5 On Tuesday, the president also signed an executive order directing federal agencies to give priority to the crackdown on illegal immigration.
6 About dlrs 550 million of the new money would help states bear the costs of illegal immigrants -- a burden California, Florida, Texas and other states have long contended the federal government should assume.
7 'Ours is the first administration to reimburse states for a share of the costs that they bear related to illegal immigration,' the president said.
8 While the dlrs 550 million is more than double the current funding, it falls short of the billions of dollars California and other states claim they are owed because of the federal government's inability to enforce its borders.
9 Clinton pointed to the accomplishments made in the last two years, including Border Patrol crackdowns in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.
10 'As we speak, these initiatives are making a substantial difference,' he said. 'Illegal immigration is down, crime is down and my budget and immigration strategy build on that success.'
11 The president said he has directed Attorney General Janet Reno to maximize use of Border Patrol strategies that are proving effective, including use of helicopters, night scopes and all-terrain vehicles.
12 The budget also recommends implementing a crossing fee for people entering by land from Mexico or Canada, with revenues dedicated for improved border crossings and increased surveillance. Pedestrians would pay dlrs 1.50, vehicles dlrs 3.
13 The fee, criticized by border lawmakers and business interests as an unfair burden on one region to solve a national problem, would bring in dlrs 400 million a year.
14 Commissioner Doris Meissner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service defended the crossing fee. She said the revenues would be dedicated for border infrastructure improvements and called it 'an idea whose time has come.'

" It is wrong and ultimately self - defeating for a nation of immigrants to permit the kind of abuse of our immigration laws that we have seen , " Clinton said . " There is too much of it , and we must do much more to stop it . "
stop
How is it possible to stop it?