Speech #1100058143

They are out there trying to catch the criminals on the streets that are loose. It seems to me they are a bigger danger than those incarcerated in the jails. These enforcement activities involve many duties. duties that include tracking down atlarge criminals. investigating smuggling networks. preventing child pornography. preventing the exploit of sensitive national security technology. and taking down employers who are exploiting illegal immigrants to the point of abuse. From which of these critical missions should ICE take monies in order to comb the Nations jails and correctional facilities. most of which never have any criminal aliens in them anyway? So to suggest that ICE should refocus its resources almost exclusively on jailed illegal aliens at the expense of trying to catch fugitives on the street who are raping and plundering seems to me as shortsighted as it is potentially very dangerous. There must be a balance among ICEs many critical missions. And I am concerned this bill falls short in that regard. I am hopeful the Chairman will work with me and others to develop a more realistic implementation of this policy as we move forward. I have other concerns as well. Any immigration policy starts out with securing the border. If we cant control who crosses our Nations borders. all other possible immigration initiatives will fail. To address this critical issue. Congress has authorized and appropriated for substantial infrastructure on the southwest border. But the bill contains a number of onerous restrictions on funding for fencing and other tactical infrastructure along our borders until the Department performs certain actions. At first glance. these individual fencing and tactical infrastructure requirements appear to be based upon sound policy. However. added together. they are a series of obstacles that can potentially impede installation of critical border security systems. I fear that securing the border will be greatly deterred. While I am pleased with the continuation of robust planning requirements for SBInet. I am absolutely committed to securing our borders as rapidly as possible. We will work with the Chairman to ensure that DHS accomplishes that critical task on time and on budget. There must be a balance between prudent oversight and timely execution of the Departments border security mission. In addition. Mr.