There have been homegrown
radical terrorists. There has never been a case of terrorism connected
with our border with Mexico. But just in case, and we should remain vigilant, just in case, we
have got those 20,000 Border Patrol agents, we have got thousands of
Customs and Border Protection officers, we have 600 miles of fencing
and physical obstructions already on our border with Mexico, we have
aerostat blimps, we have drones flying overhead, we have a
concentration of Federal law enforcement--DEA, FBI, among others--
including one of the largest military installations anywhere in the
world--Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, with 32,000 Active Duty
servicemembers. We have the security resources already that we need. I also think it is important to mention that El Paso, Texas, which is
conjoined with Ciudad Juarez in Mexico and forms what I think is the
largest true binational community in the world, certainly the largest
on the U.S.-Mexico border, El Paso, Texas, is not just the safest city
on the U.S.-Mexico border, it is not just the safest city in the State
of Texas, it is the safest city in the United States. And it is not an
outlier. If you look at other U.S. border cities, like San Diego,
California, you will find that they are among the safest in the United
States. In fact, there is a positive correlation with the number of
migrants and immigrants, documented and otherwise, in a community and
that community's relative safety. The U.S. side of the U.S.-Mexico
border is far safer than the average American city deeper into the
interior. These are some of the facts that we need to have at our
command as we are developing policy, as we are judging the President's
recent executive actions, and as we are thinking about how best to
secure this country. Here is another fact that we need to keep in mind. If we are
committing resources where they are not needed, where, for example, we
don't have terrorism, where we don't have a problem with immigration,
where we don't have an issue with security, then by definition we are
taking those resources from where they could be best used, where we
have known risks and threats, where we have real problems against which
we must contend, where we are not keeping Americans as safe as they
could be because we are directing resources where they don't need to
be, this is something that we need to know, I think, as we make policy
for this country, as we fulfill our most important solemn obligation,
which is the safety and security of this country and every American
within it. Madam Speaker, I am very fortunate today to be joined by some
outstanding colleagues. One whom I would like to introduce from the
great State of New York is a new colleague, he himself an immigrant to
this country. He represents tens of thousands of immigrants in his
Congressional District, has already, from day one, become a leader on
this issue, introducing legislation that provides a more rational,
humane, smarter approach to some of these issues that have been blown
out of proportion, politicized, mythologized, and from that steering
the country in the wrong direction. Here is somebody who wants to get
us back on track. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr.
Keywords matched
immigration Border Protection Border Patrol immigrants migrants immigrant