[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 55 (Tuesday, May 9, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H2184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               SECURING OUR BORDERS, SECURING OUR NATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the order of the House of 
January 31, 2006, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Stearns) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STEARNS. La Ladrillera, a brickyard in Sasabe, Mexico, is the 
last gathering place where coyotes deliver final words of advice before 
smuggling their human cargo across the border into the United States. 
Each illegal immigrant pays anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000 to these 
opportunists to be guided on their 3-day journey across the desert into 
their ideal of a promised land, the United States.
  My colleagues, let us be clear on the nature of these smugglers. They 
are not generous humanitarians aiding their fellow man. Many of these 
illegal immigrants are beaten, robbed and even raped before they even 
reach the Mexico-U.S. border. Yet they keep paying the coyotes enough 
money so that these smugglers have access to sophisticated arms, 
weapons, GPS equipment and high quality mobile radios. Many of them 
have better equipment than our own Border Patrol agents.
  In today's Washington Times, Gilbert Reyes, one of these smugglers, 
or successful local businessmen, describes the situation of these 
immigrants: ``They want to get into the United States, and they are 
willing to do almost anything, even walk for mile after mile in the 
desert. They think they can go into America and get a pay to stay 
permanently. Maybe they can. Maybe they can't.''
  His assertion about the immigrants' belief rings true as we look at 
the facts on immigration. In 1986, the Immigration Reform and Control 
Act granted amnesty to 2.7 million illegal immigrants, and now today we 
have 11 to 12 million illegal immigrants seeking amnesty. Two years 
ago, President Bush first announced his guest worker program, and 
illegal immigrant numbers have risen steadily since. A survey conducted 
by the Border Patrol in 2004 revealed that of those illegal aliens in 
custody of the Border Patrol, 45 percent were influenced to come to the 
U.S. by the promise of amnesty. The immigration bill we passed in the 
House directly strengthened legal recourse against these coyotes and 
focused on securing our borders, increasing the number of Border Patrol 
agents, and enforcing the immigration laws that we currently have. 
These are essential steps that must be taken before any form of 
immigration reform has a hope of succeeding. And the American people 
agree. In a recent Zogby poll, 64 percent of respondents preferred the 
House bill's approach of enforcement first and only 30 percent 
preferred the Senate's approach of amnesty. Additionally, 73 percent of 
respondents had little or no confidence in the ability of our 
government to screen out terrorists or criminals if there is a mass 
amnesty for those 12 million illegals already in this country.
  And yet the pressure is mounting in favor of this unpopular and 
impractical proposal. There are some journalistic groups that have even 
begun to object to the use of the word ``illegal'' when referring to 
these immigrants. We are supposed to refer to these individuals as, 
quote, undocumented or even the other extreme proposal, to call them 
economic refugees. But calling breaking the law by any other name does 
not make it less of a crime. According to the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, it is illegal to enter the United States illegally. It 
is illegal to smuggle human beings into the United States for a price. 
And it is illegal to knowingly hire and aid a person you know entered 
our country illegally.
  Another central issue with immigration reform is to ensure that those 
waiting and hoping to enter this country will be treated fairly. Many 
of them have undergone grueling ordeals to be able to enter the United 
States. I have heard from one couple in my district that had to undergo 
multiple in-depth interviews at the embassy before getting their 
permits. The embassy was a 3-hour commute away for them. As they had no 
transportation, they had to walk. But they told me they were happy to 
do so for the simple chance to come into the United States. Many legal 
immigrants have to wait 5, 10, sometimes 15 years before they get their 
final approval to immigrate. To allow those who bypassed all the rules 
and snuck into the U.S. amnesty and a path to citizenship is an 
egregious slap in the face to all those immigrants who sacrificed to 
respect our laws and enter legally.
  My colleagues, we are a nation of immigrants. Immigrants have 
vitalized our society, brought new life to our democracy and 
strengthened our communities simply by their contributions. However, we 
are also a nation of laws, and those whose first action is to willfully 
break them should be held accountable, not given preferential 
treatment.

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