Speech #1050143490

I oppose the amendment offered by the gentlemen from Ohio. An increase of U.S. troops on the border with Mexico is a dangerous proposal that will put border residents in danger and reduce military readiness. Our military is the worlds best trained fighting force. they are not police officers and they are not border patrol agents. They are trained to fight. and we put our own citizens at grave risk by deploying them on American soil. I represent two counties along the border with Mexico. In my town hall meetings. almost everyone I spoke with opposed putting troops on our border. Many of them had served in our military. and I respect their opinion. Border residents. just like everyone else. want to stop the influx of illegal drugs. and they believe in stopping the flow of undocumented immigrants. But the solution they support is more Border Patrol and Customs Service agents who are well trained to deal with the challenges of patrolling the border. Exactly one year ago. an 18 year old American citizen was shot to death by a Marine on patrol near Redford. Texas. This tragic incident highlights the complexities of placing soldiers on the border and the potential harm to border residents. It is no wonder that the Departments of Defense and Justice and the Immigration and Naturalization Service all oppose this proposal. The Border Patrol has nearly 8.000 agents patrolling our nations borders. and Congress has authorized an additional 1.000 agents every year until 2001. Last year. the San Antonio ExpressNews pointed out that the Redford incident may be isolated but warned against deploying soldiers into an area lawfully and peacefully used by private citizens. Mr. Chairman. I serve on the House National Security Readiness Subcommittee. At a time when readiness concerns are at their highest and with troops sent for extended periods of time to Bosnia and elsewhere. we cannot afford to pull additional men and women away from their posts to do the work of Border Patrol agents. It is unfair to our fighting men and women. and it does harm to our national security. The military can provide assistance in numerous ways without this unwarranted diversion of troops.