Speech #990274938

It must be dealt with aggressively. directly. and very soon before it is too late to reverse. Unfortunately. a majority of this body either does not share my views or refuses for political reasons to address it as a high priority. My own position on this issue was stongly reinforced during a recent visit to the San Ysidro/San Diego border sector with Harold Ezell. regional commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. along with the Chief of the Border Patrol. Alan Eliason. I saw first hand thousands of illegal aliens crossing into the United States virtually unimpeded by the threat of arrest. or fear of the ruthless bandit gangs that roam the border areas to murder. rob. and assault them. I watched from the ground and from a helicopter as scores of men. women. and children gathered in open fields on our side of the border to meet the guides who would take them north. I spoke with a large group of illegals and learned from them how easy it is to come into our country without documentation. As I looked through night vision binoculars. I saw dozens of people dart through our porous border fence. across a darkened riverbed into a suburban San Diego County residential area. Senior Border Patrol officers readily concede that they do not have nearly enough manpower or enforcement technology to cope with the annual influx of more than 1 million illegal immigrants in the San Diego sector alone. For every one apprehended. another makes it safely into the United States. Most of those arrested and sent back to Mexico are back across the border within a matter of hours. One guest on my recent border tour was a second generation Hispanic city councilman from Santa Ana whose parents entered this country illegally many years ago. He strongly supports quick and decisive action to control the present flood of illegals into this country because he and I know that eventually. our economic structure will not be able to support them. We already are dangerously close to the saturation point with regard to the types of nonagricultural employment generally sought by illegal immigrants. Mr. Chairman. the real keys to worthwhile. effective immigration reform fall into two basic categorieseconomics and enforcement. The economic issues are varied and complex. Most of those coming here illegally are merely seeking a better life for themselves and their families. fleeing the struggling economies south of the border.