Statistics show us that only 10 percent come in between the ports of entry. and have nothing to do with some of the concerns that the gentleman raises. That is point number one. Point number two is that we in this Congress. for the last several years. and for 2 or 3 years henceforth. have taken it upon ourselves to increase the number of resources specifically intended for the United States Border Patrol. We have doubled their force. By the year 2001. we are going to have a Border Patrol force that will exceed 10.000 officers. I am a cosponsor of a bill that was introduced. bipartisan bill introduced by the gentleman from California that states that we want to take the Border Patrol up to 20.000. I think that if we will continue on that course. giving the United States Border Patrol the resources necessary to do the job. it does several things. First of all. we have trained. professional Federal law enforcement agents that understand and are recognized as being part of the law enforcement presence along the border. They understand the culture. they are bilingual. they are expected to be there. and it makes sense.
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Border Patrol