[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 14, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H228]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              SALUTING THE BRAVERY OF BORDER PATROL AGENTS

  (Mr. KELLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to salute the bravery of Border 
Patrol agents working along the Mexican border. I recently returned 
from a week-long trip to the Mexican-California border, where I had the 
opportunity to ride along with our Border Patrol agents.
  I was impressed by the bravery of the Border Patrol agents who 
escorted me. We personally saw a Border Patrol supervisor pull an 
illegal alien off a 10-foot wall and arrest him despite his violent 
attempts to resist arrest. I witnessed another Border Patrol agent 
scale a 5,000-foot mountain at 2 in the morning in freezing 30-degree 
weather and single-handedly arrest and handcuff eight illegal aliens.
  The Border Patrol agent I rode with told me that he had been shot at 
on several occasions. Twenty-three of his colleagues have been killed 
in the line of duty since 1990. For example, Border Patrol agents Susan 
Rodriguez and Ricardo Salinas were gunned down by a murder suspect. 
Agent Jefferson Barr was shot to death by a drug trafficker.
  I have a message for these brave Border Patrol agents: the U.S. 
Congress knows you are there. We appreciate your service, and help is 
on the way.

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