[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 163 (Saturday, December 17, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2596-E2597]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




BORDER PROTECTION ANTITERRORISM, AND ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CONTROL ACT OF 
                                  2005

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. RON PAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 16, 2005

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 4437) to 
     amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen 
     enforcement of the immigration laws, to enhance border 
     security, and for other purposes:

  Mr. PAUL. Mr. Chairman, I rise with serious concerns over this 
legislation, which although it does address some illegal immigration 
problems is woefully weak on real substance. I fear that should this 
bill become law as is, six months or even a year down the road we will 
see no substantial improvement on the critical issue of deporting 
illegal aliens and protecting our borders.
  Some measures in the bill sound good, but are in effect superfluous. 
Do we need new legislation requiring the Department of Homeland 
Security to achieve ``operational control of the borders''? Shouldn't 
the federal government already have ``operational control of the 
borders''?
  Here is a road map for real immigration reform. First we need better 
enforcement of the laws we've got--which plainly call for illegal 
immigrants to be arrested and deported and for our borders to be 
secure. These things are already law, but the executive branch over the 
past decades has failed to enforce them. Congress can pass any law it 
wants, but unless federal agencies enforce those laws they are 
meaningless.
  Second we need to eliminate the two main magnets attracting illegal 
immigrants to illegally enter the country, the welfare magnet and the 
citizenship magnet. Failure to address these in an immigration bill 
raises questions about achieving real results. That is why I introduced 
three amendments to this bill, in the hopes that we can finally do 
something about the problem of illegal immigration. I introduced an 
amendment to end so-called ``birth-right citizenship,'' whereby anyone 
born on U.S. soil is automatically an American citizen. I introduced an 
amendment to end the practice of providing U.S. Social Security 
payments to non-U.S. citizens. And finally I introduced an amendment to 
prohibit illegal aliens from receiving food stamps, student loans, or 
other federally-provided assistance. Unfortunately, none of my 
amendments were even allowed to reach the Floor for a vote.

[[Page E2597]]

  There are some elements of this new bill to be applauded. Measures to 
require detention of and expedited removal of aliens, for example, are 
a good step. Also to be applauded is the requirement for an additional 
250 inspectors at U.S. ports of entry each year from 2007 through 2010, 
although this is unfortunately subject to the availability of funds. 
But overall this bill is a weak substitute for real immigration and 
border reform. As the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) 
says, H.R. 4437 ``treats some of the symptoms, it does not, in fact, do 
enough to actually cure the illness.''

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