[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 4, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E19]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              DOD ASSISTANCE IN BORDER PROTECTION FUNCTION

                                 ______


                      HON. JAMES A. TRAFICANT, JR.

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 4, 1995
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to reintroduce legislation 
that would authorize the Secretary of Defense to assign up to 10,000 
full-time Department of Defense [DOD] personnel to assist the 
Immigration and Naturalization Service [INS] and the U.S. Customs 
Service in performing their border protection functions. This 
legislation is identical to H.R. 1017, which I introduced in the 103d 
Congress. I am urging my colleagues to become co-sponsors of this 
legislation.
  The Border Patrol has the strength of only 3,800, yet its mission is 
to guard the two longest borders of one of the largest countries of the 
world. Reports indicate that, at any given time, only 800 patrolmen are 
available to protect our 2,000-mile southern border.
  The people of this country have shown that they are becoming 
increasingly impatient with Congress's inaction toward illegal 
immigration. In California alone, voters in November approved a State 
referendum that would discontinue nearly all State social benefits for 
illegal immigrants. While there is heated debate on both sides of this 
issue concerning its constitutional and moral grounds, the problem 
would not even exist if a stronger Border Patrol existed to monitor 
illegal crossings. Yet Congress has failed to provide funding necessary 
to enlarge the Border Patrol. Until Congress can find the money, this 
military option is the best short-term way to address this shortage of 
Border Patrol personnel. Until our borders are fully protected, illegal 
immigrants, drug traffickers, and possible terrorists will have an open 
invitation to cross into the United States undetected.
  DOD personnel are already involved in some border protection work. 
Yet, in terms of numbers, their involvement is virtually insignificant. 
My new bill would permit the Secretary of Defense to beef up the border 
with DOD personnel so that our borders are fully protected.
  We have hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops deployed throughout the 
world protecting European, Asian, and Latin American nations. At the 
same time, we have approximately three million illegal aliens crossing 
our border annually, carrying drugs into our Nation and taking jobs 
away from Americans that need them. If the DOD can bestow hundreds of 
thousands of U.S. troops on foreign nations for their defense, it 
should be able to spare about 10,000 military personnel to protect our 
Nation.
  Once again, I urge all Members to become cosponsors of this important 
legislation.


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