Speech #1090156506

I offer this amendment on behalf of all of us again. It provides local law enforcement agencies in border communities with muchneeded assistance in combatting borderrelated criminal activity. During the debate on the immigration bill. this same legislation was proposed and agreed to by the Senate with a vote of 84 in favor and 6 against. For far too long. law enforcement agencies that operate along the border have had to incur significant costs due to the inability of the Federal Government to secure our Nations borders. It is time the Federal Government recognize that border communities should not have to bear that burden alone. Specifically. the amendment establishes a competitive grant program within the Department of Homeland Security to help local law enforcement agencies that are situated along the borders cover some of the costs they incur as a result of dealing with illegal immigration. drug trafficking. stolen vehicles. and other borderrelated crimes. The amendment authorizes $50 million a year and enables law enforcement within 100 miles of the border to hire additional personnel. to obtain necessary equipment. and to cover the cost of overtime and transportation costs. Law enforcement outside of this geographic limit. this 100mile limit. would be eligible if the Secretary of Homeland Security certified they were located in what we designate as a "high impact area." The United States shares 5.525 miles of border with Canada and 1.989 miles of border with Mexico. Many of the local law enforcement agencies that are located along the border are small. They are rural departments charged with patrolling large areas of land with few officers and with very limited resources. According to a 2001 study of the U.S.-Mexico Border Counties Coalition. criminal justice costs associated with illegal immigration exceed $89 million every year. Counties along the southwest border are some of the poorest in the country and are not in a good position to cover these additional costs. The States of Arizona and New Mexico have declared states of emergency in order to provide local law enforcement with immediate assistance in addressing criminal activity along the border.