Speech #1090122441

On the other hand. I am very much in favor of having legal workers come here and fill the jobs that are necessary. But they ought to have legal work permits. and they should have to go back if it is a work permit. and if they are citizens. they need to go through a citizen entry system. The other part of the debate and what I came to talk about is the aspect of our borders and security. That is one of the reasonsnot only for immigration. but for securitywe need to secure our borders. Many of our national treasures and resources are on the front line of border security. Thirtynine percent of the southern border of the United States is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. Arizonas Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and other federally owned resources have become a hotspot for illegal border crossings. I visited Oregon Pipe last year. I am the chairman of the Parks Subcommittee. Frankly. they are using almost all of their resources not to take care of the park. not to do the things park people normally do. but to protect against illegal immigration movement across the border that is the park boundary border on the national park border. Over the last 2 years. park rangers have arrested 385 felony smugglers. seized 40.000 pounds of marijuana. and interdicted 3.800 illegal immigrants. These are national park rangers. So it has become a very important part of border security. Border security activities play. as you might imagine. a very significant role in park operation funding and in park operation staff. Customs and border protection agents are not always available to patrol the Federal lands along the border. As you can see here. there are a number of things that are there. The Bureau of Indian Affairs. for instance. right here. is a very large aspect of the Arizona border.