Mr. Chairman. securing our Nations air. land. and sea borders is a difficult. yet critical. task. While H.R. 4437 takes some good steps in addressing this problem. such as authorizing more Border Patrol agents and creating a new Border Patrol unit in my district. it also includes a number of harsh and contentious provisions which makes it impossible for it to receive the same kind of bipartisan support that was achieved in the Homeland Security Committee. So while I am pleased that the passage of this bill would mean that over 175 miles of unprotected and open borders in the U.S. Virgin Islands. a gateway of choice for smugglers into the United States. would finally receive protection from a newly established Border Patrol unit. I remain deeply concerned that H.R. 4437 would be excessively harmful to immigrants. families. businesses. and communities. It was a much better bill when it left out of the Homeland Security Committee. And I would hope that as we continue the process of moving this bill through Congress. we would find a way to develop a consensus on the final form that the legislation would take. which would protect our borders without doing harm to immigrants and Americans of all backgrounds.
Keywords matched
immigrants Border Patrol