[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 39 (Wednesday, March 7, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H2267-H2268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TOUGHER BORDER CONTROL POLICIES WILL HELP REDUCE CRIME IN THE UNITED 
                                 STATES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
discuss the sorry State of our Nation's borders. As we have read in the 
newspapers every day, we have an estimated 12 to 15 million people 
living illegally in the United States.
  Now, I understand that this is a divisive issue for many people, even 
for some in this body. I, myself, understand the needs of Florida's 
citrus growers and sugar cane farmers to have a reliable source of 
agricultural workers. But as my constituents tell me all the time, what 
part of illegal doesn't Congress understand?
  I know that we need a guest worker program, but not one that includes 
amnesty or a pathway to citizenship, as some have called it. A guest 
worker program should be just that, a program

[[Page H2268]]

where migrant workers are guests in our country and return home when 
their visa expires.
  Unfortunately, that is not what happens today. We have hundreds of 
thousands of people sneaking across our borders every day. We don't 
know who they are, where they are headed or what their intentions are.
  Some of those on the other side of the aisle make the argument that 
the people sneaking across our borders are just good honest people 
looking to make a better life for themselves. That may indeed be the 
case for some. But in a post-9/11 world, we can't take that chance. 
Many of them are common crooks, low-level thugs, brutal gang members, 
drug dealers, murderers, rapists or kidnappers or serial killers.
  One example recently in Florida took place with the brazen abduction 
of a young man by the name of Clay Moore in Manatee county, which is 
just outside of my congressional district. Thirteen year-old Clay was 
waiting for a school bus with other kids when a man driving a pickup 
truck pulled up alongside of them and kidnapped Clay by gun point. Law 
enforcement issued an AMBER Alert and set up a concerted manhunt to 
find Clay and his abductor.
  Unlike the case of Jessica Lunsford or Sarah Lunde, in this case, the 
story ends with good news, not a body bag. Clay managed to escape, but 
not after being driven to the middle of the woods, duct-taped to a tree 
for several hours. He freed himself by using a safety pin he had hidden 
in his mouth to cut the duct tape holding him to the tree, and then he 
called home for help.
  Clay is a brave and resourceful young man to have gotten away without 
being harmed. I can only wonder if he and his family watched old reruns 
of MacGyver to learn the safety pin trick.
  This story ended well for Clay. But the bad news for America is that 
the alleged abductor was an illegal immigrant who had been deported 
once from the country. A news report from the Bradenton Herald even 
describes the problems authorities had tracking him down. ``Obtaining 
the warrants took longer than expected due to the suspected kidnapper's 
multiple aliases. Beltran-Moreno is an undocumented immigrant who at 
one time was deported from the United States,'' they said. When I came 
down to the floor earlier, the authorities still had not caught 
Beltran-Moreno. News reports indicated that he was trying to make it to 
Mexico to escape prosecution and punishment.
  Mr. Speaker, if our immigration laws had been enforced and if we had 
stronger border security measures in place, this kidnapper would not 
have been in America and would not have had the opportunity to kidnap 
young Clay Moore. Instead, a dangerous criminal flees, leaving his 
whereabouts unknown and his motives unclear. This is unacceptable.
  The House has passed strong border security legislation in the past, 
but the Senate is taking its open path, a path towards amnesty. My 
constituents in and the constituents of many in this Chamber believe 
that that is absolutely the wrong path to take. Americans deserve real 
security and real results.
  With other like-minded Members of Congress, I will work to pass 
legislation that keeps illegal kidnappers and illegal aliens like 
Beltran-Moreno off our streets and away from our children.

                          ____________________