[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 109 (Thursday, September 7, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H6307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BORDER PROTECTION AND SECURITY NOW
(Mrs. CAPITO asked and was given permission to address the House for
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. Speaker, during the August recess, my constituents
saw very clearly the need to increase enforcement along our borders. In
early August, an illegal immigrant wanted for murder in Texas was found
working in a lumberyard near Elkins, West Virginia.
Last week, another illegal immigrant struck and killed 4-year-old
Tyler Evans in a car accident in Boone County, West Virginia. The
police report alleges that speed and alcohol were factors in the fatal
crash. Both illegal immigrants had falsified immigration papers.
I held a roundtable with law enforcement officers and elected leaders
and talked with many constituents throughout August to discuss the
House border security bill and the Reid-Kennedy amnesty bill. The
response was unanimous: No amnesty and increased enforcement along our
borders.
We shouldn't stop there. It is critical that we provide employers the
ability to check immigration status of employees and hold them
accountable for their workers. Clearly, most people who enter illegally
are not security threats, but it is critical to our homeland security
that we are able to account for the people who enter this country. We
need to pass tough immigration reform now. It is too late for Tyler
Evans, but we need to act before it is too late for other Americans.
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