Speech #1090172551

President. I rise today in support of H.R. 6061. the Secure Fence Act of 2006. As I traveled back home over the summer. particularly over the month of August. there was not a single issue I heard more of from my constituents. whether they were in the north Georgia mountains. vacationing on Georgias coast. or working on farms in south Georgia. than illegal immigration. This is by far the most emotionally charged issue with which I have dealt during my 12 years in Congress. Earlier this year. the American people watched as Congress debated how to handle the growing crisis of illegal immigration. During that debate. there were a wide variety of views expressed regarding the best way to stop illegal immigration and how to address the presence of 15 to 20 million illegal aliens currently in the United States. However. there was one issue on which everybody agreed. that is. the need to secure our borders. This legislation we are considering today takes an important step in the right direction to do just that. Securing the borders is not antiimmigrant. There is more to this debate than the presence of illegal immigrants. Securing our borders will stop illegal commercial activities. such as human trafficking and drug and weapons smugglingthe three most lucrative illegal commercial activities in the world. Human traffickers profit by exploiting people who seek to come to the United States to seek a better life for themselves and their families.