[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 72 (Thursday, May 26, 2005)]
[House]
[Page H4120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       BORDER CONTROL AND AMNESTY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Norwood) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NORWOOD. Mr. Speaker, this month a bill to grant amnesty to 
illegal immigrants was introduced in the United States Senate.
  I think we should send a very clear message to the other body not to 
waste their time or ours on any bill dealing with the status of illegal 
immigrants until we first secure our borders.
  What good does it do to try to address the problems of 11 to 16 
million people who are here illegally if we do not address the gaping 
wound that allowed them in this country to start with?
  The majority of illegals simply walk across our woefully undermanned 
2,000-mile border with Mexico. We could deport them back to their 
country of origin, and millions would be pouring back across that same 
border within hours. We could turn our backs on justice and the rule of 
law and declare everyone here as now to be legal. Within hours we would 
have millions more illegal immigrants walking across that same border, 
encouraged by the fact that they could laugh at our laws with impunity.
  Either extreme, or anything in between, is pointless while we let our 
border continue to bleed. Trying to defend 1,951 miles of border 
against 4 million illegal immigrants a year with just 10,817 border 
patrol officers is a mathematical impossibility.
  This month Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert Bonner 
told the House Committee on Government Reform that we could secure the 
border, that we could secure the border, with an additional 50,000 
auxiliary officers. That figure is in very close agreement with the 
draft field research by the Immigration Reform Caucus that was reported 
this week by the Washington Times, CNN's Lou Dobbs, and Fox News, which 
estimates 36,000 auxiliaries may accomplish the same purpose.
  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Janet Napolitano of 
Arizona, Bill Richardson of New Mexico, and Governor Rick Perry of 
Texas can order their National Guard, with support from other States 
through the National Guard Bureau, to secure their section of their 
border today. We have already authorized the Secretary of Defense to 
pay the cost of that deployment in last year's Defense Authorization 
Act. In addition, we are bringing home 70,000 Federal troops from 
around the world, where they have been guarding other nations' borders 
for the past 60 years. A simple executive order from the President 
would allow them to relieve our National Guard and have 20,000 men and 
women to spare.
  All it takes, Mr. Speaker, is will. We have the manpower and we have 
the money.
  Mr. Speaker, on May 5 the American people responded to a Zogby 
nationwide poll on this issue. They approve using Federal troops to 
secure our border by a 53 to 40 percent margin. They approve using 
State and local law agencies to help secure our border by an 81 to 14 
percent margin. They oppose an amnesty plan like that proposed in the 
Senate by a 56 to 35 percent margin.
  This week, after the border patrol draft reported by caucus 
investigators was released, CNN online polls were running 92 percent in 
favor of using our military to control our borders. In response, the 
Mexican Government this week spoke out against us securing our border 
with our troops.
  The American public demands we do so.
  Now is the time for every Member of this body to choose whose side we 
are on.

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