Speech #1090100512

Mr. Chairman. I rise in opposition to the Border Protection. Antiterrorism. and Illegal Immigration Control Act. This bill is fundamentally flawed. By taking an approach that implements only enforcement measures. and does not look comprehensively at the problem. we will only worsen our current situation and do nothing to solve our immigration problems. I support border enforcement. In my State of Arizona. we have increased the number of Border Patrol agents by tenfold. quintupled the immigration enforcement budget. and overhauled the arsenal of hightech equipment along the border. But we have learned a hard lesson in Arizona: No matter how much we increase our enforcement. still the illegal migrants kept coming. at the same rate or faster than they had come in previous years. In fact. during that period. the probability of catching illegal immigrants along the U.S.-Mexico border actually fell to an alltime low of 5 percent in 2002. The border buildup did not stop the flow. it merely shifted it to more dangerous areas. where apprehensions are more difficult and death more likely. This bill would continue that tailed policy. by seeking only enforcement provisions. without creating a realistic. legal channel for workers to come here and help grow our economy. The only way to truly solve the problem is to include a legal channel for willing American employers to connect with willing foreign workers where no U.S. citizens are available or willing to fill the job. Otherwise. immigrants will continue to pour over our borders in search of jobs and a better way of life. At the same time. we must also create a tough but workable way to bring out of the shadows the millions of people who currently live in our country without documentation. We must say to those who break our laws that they will pay a stiff fine and they must go behind everyone else that wants to become a proud citizen of this country. Anything less than this will undermine our national security at a time when Americans are demanding to know who is living within our borders. Some have called the payment of large fines and other penalties "amnesty." But I say that it is this bills unrealistic. unworkable approach that amounts to amnesty. Thats true because under this bill undocumented people living here will remain in the country with nothing happening to them. This bill ignores the problem. I think most members know this. But we are going to continue this charade. continue trying to fool the American people. continue pretending we are doing something to prevent illegal immigration. Without real. workable provisions. the American people will rightly be even more angry over our duplicitous shell game. Enhanced enforcement is an integral part of improving our Nations security. But. enforcement alone without other reforms has not and will not secure the border. Mr. Chairman. simply stated. we should defeat this bad bill and bring back to the House a real bill. a comprehensive bill that tackles all the pieces of the immigration puzzle.