Speech #1050079166

We used to say when I was growing up that consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds. but we also used to say that when you ignore consistency sometimes you can be extremely hypocritical. and. so according. this dilemma here. On the one hand we are substantially beefing up our borders along especially the southern borders and throughout the rest of the United States. On the other hand. this bill relaxes our border around the Great Lakes. and it seems to me that we at least need to be aware that this is inconsistent with everything else we are saying about immigration policy.* The bill. like every other bill related to U.S. immigration policy. is about striking the proper balance between securing U.S. borders against illegal immigration while allowing trade and tourism to continue to flow freely. I am not convinced that H.R. 2027 strikes the proper balance between these competing interests. The fact is that the southwest border of the United States between Mexico and the United States is becoming more and more secure. or at least we are attempting to make it more and more secure. and as a result pressures are being increased on other borders for people to try to immigrate to this country illegally across other borders. There have already been incidents of smugglers bringing illegal aliens into the U.S. through upstate New York. and while there have been no reported incidents of alien smuggling on the Great Lakes. there have been innumerable instances of alcohol and tobacco products being smuggled across the Great Lakes into Canada to avoid the steep Canadian excise taxes. If we continue to relax the border on the Great Lakes we may be setting the stage for an influx of illegal immigrants directly into the heartland of the United States. and that is the dilemma we are in with this bill. I think it is commendable to try to make it as easy as we can make it for citizens to get back. for our citizens to get back and forth. into and out of Canada. Unfortunately it is not possible always to know who our citizens are. and the law. as currently written. provides some protections while not creating so much of an inconvenience that it is unreasonable. 0l 1530 Madam Speaker.