Speech #1030128860

Mr. President. last week on Thursday. February 3. the Attorney General made a significant announcement regarding the border patrol and our Nations priorities. Ms. Reno and Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner Doris Meissner outlined their plan to strengthen enforcement of our immigration laws and to safeguard her borders. The highlight of this plan. as it was announced. was strengthening the border patrol. Specifically. for 1994. San Diego border patrol strength will be increased by 40 percent. the equivalent of some 300 agents and 97 support staff. The El Paso. TX border will receive 50 new agents and 44 support staff. The Attorney General stated that this action will "stop the revolving door on the border . . . by a strategy of deterrence through prevention." Mr. President. this is not a national plan to stop the revolving door. it is a plan to curb illegal immigration into California and Texas. It is a plan designed to garner 86 electoral votes and keep a Senate seat in Democratic hands. Mr. President. the money the Senate appropriated for the border patrol last year was intended to augment our Nations efforts to control illegal immigration across our Southwest frontier. That frontier is more. much more. than just California and Texas. After the Senators from Arizona and New Mexico publicly noted this unfair. irrational distribution of agents. the Border Patrol appears to have slightly changed its original policy. According to INS and the Border Patrol. Arizona will now receive 33 new support staff. but no new agents. New Mexico will receive 5 new support staff. My staff has also been told that all new agents are being forced to sign mobility clauses in their employment contracts--clauses that would allow the Border patrol to move agents from one region to another. The Border Patrol told my staff that Arizona need not worry about increased illegal immigration because if it were to occurand they admit it willthat agents could be moved to Arizona. Unfortunately. these are simply hollow words. Mr. President. when my staff asked Border Patrol officials what criteria would be used to determine when agents would be shifted from one region to anotherfor example from California to Arizonamy staff was told there was no official criteria and that such moves would be made at the policy level when determined to be appropriate. In others words. when the politics of the situation merit a shift in agents. the Attorney Generals office will comply. Mr. President. the people of Arizona have a right to know when our border patrol problems merit the concern of Border Patrol officials. I expect that the Attorney Generals office will be forthcoming with specifics regarding this issue. Under the Attorney Generals plan the revolving door at San Diego will be closed. Nothing however will be done at this time in Arizona. In meetings with my staff. Border Patrol officials admit that this action will result in a shift of illegal border crossings from California to Arizona. This appears to be a shortsighted. politically expedient solution to our immigration problems. It is the political aspect of this solution that particularly concerns me. Not only was Arizona and New Mexico ignored in the distribution of agents. it has come to my attention that the two Senators from California were briefed in advance on this subject. Yet the staffs and Senators from Arizona and New Mexico were not briefed until last Friday afternoon. Mr. President. for the information of those at the Attorney Generals office and the Border Patrol. the Southwest border is comprised of four States: Arizona. New Mexico. California. and Texas. The ArizonaMexico border is three times the length of the CaliforniaMexico border and has more border crossing stations. I would hope that the Attorney General and all other officials concerned with that border would remember that each State on the border has equal concerns that must be addressed. The needs of the people and of this country must be put ahead of what appears to be a political agenda.