Speech #1050083207

For all of its good intentions and willing personnel. the INS is doomed to fail. The problem is that they are tasked with conflicting missions: service versus enforcement. Despite funding increases of more than 52 percent over the past 2 years. the INS has not adequately handled naturalization or enforcement. There are approximately 1.4 million people waiting for the INS to process their naturalization applications. and this backlog. unfortunately. is expected to increase. This situation is unacceptable. It is the duty of our Nation to provide timely service to those seeking admission under the legal immigration system. Our efforts to control the border are also falling short of expectations by the American people. By recent INS estimates. there are more than 5 million illegal immigrants living in the United States. It is the duty of our Nation to effectively control illegal immigration and drug trafficking in order to provide safety and security to the American people. Increasingly the physical presence of Border Patrol agents on the Southwest border to deter illegal crossings has been an integral part of our border control strategy. but there is much more to be done. In addition to placing agents in the field. we must ensure that they are properly equipped to control our borders. It should not be acceptable to have drug smugglers and alien smugglers taking shots at our agents on the border. It should not be acceptable to ask our agents to make do with what resources are available rather than with the resources that they need to do their jobs. We owe it to these officers to provide them the tools that they need to protect our borders and keep our communities safe. Last year alone. there were more than 1.5 million apprehensions of illegal aliens attempting to enter the United States along the Southwest border. As if this is not enough. Border Patrol agents are playing a major and integral part in our Nations drug control strategy. Drug traffickers attempting to supply the drugs to feed Americas $50 billion a year drug habit have become increasingly dangerous and sophisticated. The men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol are outmanned and outgunned. The INS. with its mission overload. is forced to fund programs depending on the priority of the moment despite an unprecedented increase in resources. These priorities vary from border control. interior enforcement. or naturalization. It is time to correct this. We cannot expect our Border Patrol agents to effectively combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking without providing them the means to do so. This newly created agency will be enforcementoriented and will dedicate the necessary resources to control our borders and protect the lives of our Border Patrol agents. This legislation will also allow the INS to focus its attention and resources on naturalization and adjudication by relieving them of their enforcement duties. The deficiencies inherent in our immigration system will finally be addressed. We must place a priority on controlling our borders and properly serving those seeking admission to our Nation legally. It is time to protect those who serve us every day on the border and throughout our Nation.