[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 36 (Tuesday, March 28, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H1135]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORS

  (Mr. KELLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the benefits of 
having a physical or virtual fence along the 2,000-mile Mexican-U.S. 
border to crack down on illegal immigration.
  I recently returned from a week-long trip to the Mexican-California 
border, and I am convinced of one thing. Good fences make good 
neighbors. First, we need to complete construction of the double fence 
for 700 miles along the border near highly populated urban areas.
  For example, San Diego saw a steep reduction in crossings from 
500,000, now down to 130,000, when the double fence was completed 
there. Second, for the remaining 1,300 miles along the border, where 
mountains and rugged terrain make completion of a double fence 
impossible, we need to have a virtual fence which consists of infrared 
cameras that allow our Border Patrol agents to see the entire border.
  Mr. Speaker, the House recently passed a tough border security bill 
that authorized the appropriate border security fence, but the Senate 
yesterday cleared a bill out of the Judiciary Committee that did 
absolutely nothing to build this border security fence. It is now time 
for the full Senate to get serious about border security.

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