linked - Investigating the Terror

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the media, in the courts and through the legislative process. As
the 1980s wore on, the charges became ever more expansive and
positions on the matter became more polarized. Ultimately,
opponents of the Administration came to characterize sections
212(a)(27), (28), and (29) as the "ideological exclusions" and to
insist upon their outright repeal.
Now, outright repeal of all three sections would have had
catastrophic consequences. The problem the Administration faced
at the time, however, was that attempts to explain that fact and
to describe what the consequences would be were dismissed as
political subterfuges designed to thwart reform of an unjust
system, making it possible for the Administration to continue its
nefarious practices. The atmosphere which all of this produced
within the Department is difficult to imagine at this remove, but
there was substantial apprehension about any politically sensitive
visa refusal. Secretary Shultz was personally very concerned, as
he made clear to then Assistant Secretary Joan Clark.
The legislative process began in 1984 or 1985 with the
introduction by Cong. Frank (D-Mass) of a bill to revise section
212(a) of the Act. Hearings were held on that bill, but it was
not enacted in that Congress, nor in the next. Mr. Frank again
introduced it in the 100th Congress, but again it appeared
unlikely to be enacted. It was at this point, that other
like-minded members proposed and had enacted section 901.
Initially, section 901 was limited to a fifteen month period
beginning on January 1, 1988. The report of the conferees on P.L.
100-204 makes it clear that the time limit was in anticipation of
the enactment of permanent revisions to sections 212(a)(27), (28),
and (29) of the Act. In the event, the completion of that
revision process was delayed until late 1990. As a result,
section 901 was, first, extended for a two-year period and, later,
made permanent. In the process, it was also modified to apply
only to nonimmigrant aliens. (Initially, it had applied to all
aliens, immigrant or nonimmigrant.) Section 901 was repealed by
the Immigration Act of 1990, as of June 1, 1991, the effective
date of the permanent revisions of section 212 (a).
Upon the enactment of section 901, the Administration took
the position that section 901 did not repeal or suspend the
application of any provision of the Act, specifically sections
212(a)(27), (28), or (29). It conceded that an alien could not be
denied admission under those sections for reasons specified in
section 901, but asserted that aliens could be denied under those
sections for reasons other than the prohibited ones.