These employees make daily patrols of this international boundary to prevent the illegal entry of animals into the United States. These animals are inspected for prevention of the introduction or dissemination of any communicable animal disease. particularly tick fever. These inspectors are exposed to smugglers. cattle rustlers. and illegal aliens. and there have been numerous incidences of violence. One of the witnesses appearing before our subcommittee told of being fired upon. and several weeks after his subcommittee appearance we learned that he had again been fired upon and this time he had suffered a gunshot wound. As you might surmise there is a certain amount of hostility directed toward the Feds no matter what job they may be doing. and this legislation would allow these inspectors to carry firearms for protection. It should be pointed out that custom inspectors. Immigration and Naturalization Service personnel. drug enforcement personnel. and the Texas Rangers. among others. are all armed and support the arming of these tick inspectors. The costs of enacting this legislation are minimal. consisting of the procurement of firearms and ammunition for about 100 inspectors and the costs of properly training these employees in the use and care of such firearms. Rules and regulations to implement this legislation will be jointly issued by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Attorney General of the United States.
Keywords matched
Naturalization Immigration illegal aliens