Getting Control of the Border
Illegal immigration imposes enormous costs on California, undercuts the rule of law in our country and undermines legal immigration. What’s more, in an age of terrorism, border security is a national security imperative.
To get control of our borders, Congress approved $19.1 billion for border protection and immigration enforcement in 2005, an increase of $1.4 billion over the last fiscal year. We provided funding to hire 1,500 new border agents and complete the San Diego border fence. We also made sure that only legal citizens could use driver’s licenses for federal identification.
This was just a start. In December, the House passed new border security measures. The Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, H.R. 4437, authorizes every tool available to tighten the border, including increased manpower, more high-tech surveillance and more beds to detain illegal immigrants.
Physical barriers are also an important part of the security equation. I co-authored an amendment that mandates building security fences along the five most vulnerable and dangerous sections of the Southwest border – where immigrant deaths are high, drug smuggling is rampant and illegal border crossers are numerous. For both national security and humanitarian reasons, we must physically secure the most heavily trafficked sectors of our Southern border.
Beefed-up border security cannot succeed without also reducing the incentive for illegals to come to our country. We also need to strictly enforce our immigration laws. H.R. 4437 includes a strengthened and streamlined employment verification system along the lines of legislation I authored, called the Bonner Plan. If employers can verify the eligibility of workers, there will be no excuse for hiring illegals and no market for phony IDs. Many of the illegal immigrants who come to the United States are in search of a pay check and a better life. But if they know they can’t find a job here, they won’t try to cross the border in the first place.
The bill also ends the incredibly risky practice of releasing apprehended illegals from countries other than Mexico into our communities. This bill changes the policy from "catch and release" to, as President Bush said, "catch and return."
With the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005, Congress is making our country safer and reinforcing the principle that no one is above the law. The bill is tough, it’s bold and it’s another step towards control of our borders.
