[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 11, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H976-H979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BORDER SECURITY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 6, 2015, the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms.
McSally) for 30 minutes.
General Leave
Ms. McSALLY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Arizona?
There was no objection.
Ms. McSALLY. Mr. Speaker, I come before this body today, again, to
talk about the very important issue of border security.
My district is Arizona's Second Congressional District. I represent
about 85 miles of the southern border. We have border residents and
ranchers who every day are dealing with transnational criminal
organizations that are trafficking drugs and people and weapons and
money through their property, putting their lives at risk, often having
them have to make difficult decisions, potentially life-and-death
decisions.
As we stand today, this administration has done nothing to secure our
border. This is a national security threat. It is a public safety
threat. The people of southern Arizona need to be heard, and that is
why I am organizing some time to address this issue.
I appreciate one of my colleagues, the gentleman from California (Mr.
Valadao), joining this conversation. This is a serious issue. We do
have a bill, Secure Our Borders First Act. I am a cosponsor of the
bill, and I believe it is an important bill that should unite this body
to move forward and address this issue. I don't want to play politics
with it.
I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Valadao).
Mr. VALADAO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative McSally. I had an
opportunity to go to your home State a couple of weeks ago and spend
some time with you on the border. I have spent quite a bit of time here
in Washington over the last 2 years talking about immigration reform. I
do believe that we have to fix the problem. We have to address the
situation we have with immigration in general. But something that I
learned a lot about on that trip which I knew before, until I really
got to experience and see for myself, I didn't realize how bad the
situation on the border was and what our border agents face on a day-
to-day basis, with people coming in with tools that I happened to use
in my shop when I am building stuff, saws and torches and different
types of equipment, just to get through the fence. When you see the
situation we have got with the types of drugs and the types of people
crossing the border on a daily basis, it is truly a situation that has
to be resolved and looked at in a totally different way.
Chairman McCaul came up with a piece of legislation to address this,
going along the whole border in a piece-by-piece manner. It looks at
each part of the border and how it needs to be addressed. From that
tour and the time I spent on the border, I got to see how important it
was; from the California portion in San Diego and how people are
getting across the border and the type of tunnels they are digging to
the type of aircraft that people are flying, the drones that you can
buy for a couple thousand bucks online; and even down to your part of
the border where we got to see people cutting through the fence and
actually making ramps and driving over barriers that weren't able to be
cut; down to Texas to the Rio Grande when we traveled the river and saw
what the situation was there, where people can hide and how narrow that
area is.
The bill that was introduced helps secure the border because it looks
at each portion of the border separately and individually and addresses
it as a problem in itself. It puts technology in those places where it
can truly make a difference. That border with this legislation can
actually be secured--as much as we possibly can. Then we can move on
with the rest of what has to be done. Obviously, fixing our guest
worker programs and fixing our visa programs and the type of legal
immigration that we welcome in this country because this country was
built on immigrants. But we want to make sure that we secure the border
first.
I am thrilled to be here and spend some time with you this evening
talking about such an important issue. I appreciate the invitation.
Ms. McSALLY. Congressman Valadao, I appreciate you coming to visit my
district. Twenty-one Members of this body came to southern Arizona to
see what these border residents and ranchers are dealing with on a
daily basis, to include our chairman, Chairman McCaul. I really
appreciated your willingness to come see firsthand and listen to the
ranchers and border residents.
We have men and women in uniform in our communities that are doing
the best they can. But the strategy that they have been given in our
sector is just not working, and they need some better tools and they
need a better strategy so that we can use intelligence-driven
operations, we can use technology where it works, we can have barriers
where they work. Ideally, we need to be detecting the illegal activity
of the cartels well south so that we are able to then monitor and
either deter the breaches or intercept them as soon as possible when
they come over the border.
Some of the additions that I added into the bill were to create a
rapid reaction force so that they quickly intercept, and directing the
Border Patrol to be patrolling at the border to the maximum extent
possible. Right now there is a multilayered approach in these rural
areas. It is called a Defense in Depth strategy. It relies on taking
sometimes, what they say, hours to days to intercept illegal activity.
The problem with that is, during those hours to days, these cartels are
transiting over private property.
Whereas in the past, sometimes, these ranchers, look, they have
always had a humanitarian heart. If they saw individuals who were
coming over illegally to find work, if they needed water, they would
help them and then they would call border security. But now they don't
know who they are. As the numbers have gone down, the cartel activity,
the drug mules, the potential violence, the violent history of the
individuals who are apprehended have gone up. So they don't know who it
is that is crossing their property right now.
Rancher Rob Krentz, in 2010, went out to help someone, and that is
the last we have heard of him. He was murdered on his own property.
They still don't know who did that as he was out there responding.
We have stories of individuals in my district. You have heard some of
them. We hear more every single day where, generally speaking, they are
on alert. They usually don't go out of their homes unless they are
armed, and they often don't go out unless it is in daylight hours. So
it is impacting their lives and their livelihood, and they are
constantly dealing with cut fences and loose cattle or killed cattle
and all of the implications that come with these cartels that are
trafficking across their property and around their homes, like break-
ins and other things that come with that.
So I really appreciate your willingness to come down and see that
firsthand.
[[Page H977]]
For those who are listening and watching, I want to make sure they
know: Call your Congressman. This is a good bill. We have to get this
thing passed. If we can't unite this body around securing our border,
what can we unite around? This is something that we need to get done.
It is what we have been asked to do. On our side of the aisle, as
Republicans, we always hear our colleagues say to secure the border
first. Well, this is an opportunity to do that. I stand today to
support that bill again.
I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis) to join the
conversation.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank one of my
newest colleagues, Congresswoman Martha McSally, who has shown true
leadership on this issue because it is personal. It is your district.
Just like many issues that we face in the Midwest are issues that you
and I will talk about but you don't have to experience, but these are
issues that you see and we hear about. You see many cases where the
border is not secure, where drug cartels are coming through private
property. We in Illinois cannot imagine someone walking through our
backyard hauling drugs and criminals. These are things that we don't
experience, but we have to experience as Members of this institution
because every vote we take impacts every single citizen in this great
country.
I just am proud that you are willing to stand up and talk about the
issues that matter most to this debate, and that is how we secure our
borders, because once we do, we can fix our broken immigration system.
We can fix the process that we already have, called the naturalization
process, and ensure that we have a system that is going to work.
My fear, though, is that many in this debate, they don't want to see
this problem fixed because they want to use it as a political hammer.
I will tell a personal story very quickly. I can remember doing one
of my public meetings and having an organization come in and talk to me
about their view of how we make our border more secure. As I was going
to another public meeting, this organization decided to send members to
my house and send the same message to my then 12-year-old son. Bullying
tactics like that are not conducive to solving problems, not just in
this institution but in this great country.
That is why I am so proud to be able to stand here with both of you
today and talk about the issues that are important, and the fact that
we are willing to talk about it and find solutions and begin our
address towards making those solutions real is the reason why we came
to this institution.
{time} 1945
Thank you for your leadership, both of you, on many issues,
especially this one. I hope, some day, I can follow in the footsteps of
my colleague from California and visit your district and see the same
things he did.
Ms. McSALLY. Well, you can come down any time. The door is open. We
are ready to show anyone, really, from this body, so that they can see
firsthand what we are dealing with.
I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois for his comments and his
encouragement and his support to this bill in this initiative. We have
got to find like-minded individuals to move this forward because that
is what the American people are asking us to do.
When we were hosting the CODEL down at the Ladd ranch, Jack Ladd and
John Ladd, just amazing and wonderful Americans and hardworking people
who gave us their perspective, along with many other ranchers. If you
remember, one of the ranchers said: Look, these mules are just
trafficking through our neighborhoods, but they are going to yours.
Once they hit the highway and they are able to get around, they are
moving on to Phoenix, they are moving over to California, they are
moving up to Illinois. They are bringing their drugs to all over the
United States. There is cartel presence in many of these States. This
is a very sophisticated criminal organization. Even though it starts in
my district, it is impacting everyone in the country, related to their
presence in everybody's district.
This is the time. We have been talking about border security for a
very long time, and there have been efforts. With putting up some of
the additional barriers, we have seen the efforts and how that has
delayed activity, for sure. We have seen how the San Diego sector has
really done a fantastic job in order to go from what was literally just
an open border to having much better control.
But this is a sophisticated organization, these cartels, and they
adjust. What do they do? They adjusted into my sector. Even as we put
up some barriers, it basically funneled them into these rural areas, so
that these criminals were trafficking through the ranchers'
neighborhoods and border residences.
Again, we were the highest sector since 1998 until last year, as far
as the number of apprehensions, but as we said on the trip, we don't
know what the denominator is.
If all we are doing is measuring the numerator of how many
individuals we have caught or apprehended, but the Border Patrol does
not have situational awareness to be able to see all activity and then
intercept the activity, we don't even know what those numbers are.
We have got to have the political will now to address this very
important issue, so that we can bring the promise home to the people
who live in my community and then in the rest of the country.
This is not hard. This is a good bill. In our sector, it provides
additional resources, it provides additional technologies to increase
the situational awareness. It holds Border Patrol and the senior
appointees in Homeland Security accountable for securing the border,
and it provides the resources and the capabilities that they need in
order to gain situational awareness and operational control.
I have heard many of our colleagues--and if you all want to join on
this discussion--say, Just build a fence, just build a fence. Look, we
have built some fences in southern Arizona, and those fences and those
vehicle barriers and the pedestrian fences, they are delaying activity,
for sure.
What we have seen is these sophisticated cartels have got scouts on
hilltops, they have got good communication devices, they have got
incredible equipment, and they are across those fences. They either go
over it, through it, or under it; and they do it in very fast time.
A barrier is certainly one element of a strategy in order to slow
down the activity, but that is not the only answer. It is very costly,
about $5 million a mile for some of this fencing, so where it is
appropriate, it definitely needs to be put up.
But if we don't actually have Border Patrol actively monitoring where
the fence line is, using intelligence-driven operations, and then
intercepting the activity, patrolling right at the border on the south
of John Ladd's ranch, not on the north side, then we are still not
going to be able to stop these breaches because they will happen.
For those who don't understand that, I welcome them to come to
Arizona and see that.
I yield again to the gentleman from California (Mr. Valadao), my
colleague.
Mr. VALADAO. I appreciate the opportunity again.
But, no, that is something we hear about a lot in the district.
Everybody just says: Build a fence, follow the existing law.
Most people don't know the technology out there. Like you said, they
literally have scouts. They have got people every so often, every so
many yards or 100 yards, whatever the distance, spotting where the
Border Patrol agents are. They know everything about these Border
Patrol agents.
I heard a story that one of the people crossing the border actually
had a booklet with all the names, addresses, and the tendencies of each
and every Border Patrol agent.
They knew if they chewed gum, if they chewed tobacco, if they read a
book while they were sitting there. They knew how slow they drove from
checkpoint to checkpoint. They knew everything about this person. They
knew exactly how long they would have those openings to get across.
They knew how to dig a tunnel. There was a tunnel they found that was
90 feet underground, 700 yards long, and the only reason they found
that wasn't
[[Page H978]]
because of technology--because they don't have the technology to find
that--it was because they found an informant that opened their mouth
and told them where it was at, and they were able to stop that.
It is amazing how much is out there and what these people are doing,
and anyone that believes just building a fence is going to work--they
are going to go under it, they are going to buy those drones to go over
it.
I heard stories of cannons that are literally firing bales of drugs
over the top. There are so many opportunities out there. For anybody to
believe that just enforcing the law the way it is written today, it
will never work--it just won't--because the technology is out there.
If you ask any police officer on the street or any parent out there,
you can't do everything the same you did 50 years ago because your
children have way better technology to do stuff, our prisoners in our
prison system have much more opportunity, and now, these folks have
unbelievable amounts of technology out there to get across or to bring
their drugs across.
Like you mentioned earlier, the problem has changed. What the folks
in your district had mentioned to me was 20 years ago, 15 years ago, it
was a large number of people--it was families, it was those that we see
typically working on farms--who are out here just looking for an
opportunity.
The folks coming across today are dangerous. They are cartels. They
are trying to bring drugs. They are bringing problems into this
country. A lot of times--like one of your constituents--someone's life
was taken. It is a truly sad situation.
But it has to be addressed in a way that actually solves our
problems. We don't just take votes here because of sending out a press
release. We solve problems. Legislation that we introduce and that we
pass and that we vote on has to solve problems for the American people.
That is what we are responsible to do, and that is what I want to do.
So again, I thank you for the opportunity.
Ms. McSALLY. Thank you. Again, I appreciate the gentleman from
California. Thank you so much for your perspectives.
I agree. If anyone thinks, if anyone in this body thinks, let's just
build a fence, I would invite you to please come to southern Arizona
and see the doggy doors that are cut--even in California, the doggy
doors, as they call them--that get cut out in less than 60 seconds and
where individuals are still coming through.
So those barriers are helpful, but they are a speed bump. We are
dealing with sophisticated organizations that are much more nimble than
we are. When we come up with a different strategy, they are able to
react much more quickly.
But we have got men and women in Border Patrol right now that if they
are able to detect any sort of activity, they just start tracking them
sometimes by themselves, they are out there tracking them, without any
situational awareness as to what they are tracking, who they are
tracking, what do they have on them, are they armed, are they not
armed, what is their intent.
Some of the other things in this bill actually help provide them with
the situational awareness that they need. Some of it is bringing
technologies back that we have used overseas so that we can just have
motion sensing and know what is moving and what is not moving so we
don't have to bother lining agents up on the border, but we can respond
and react with intelligence.
Mr. Davis, would you like to join us again and provide some more
comments? I yield to you.
Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois. Absolutely. And it relates to the fact
that sometimes the policies that are put in place through
administrative rules or by this body hinder our ability to achieve the
goals that Americans want us to achieve.
We could build fencing, but you know there are many times people will
find a way around that fence. And that doesn't mean let's not do it,
but what it means is let's also enact policies that will not hinder our
Border Patrol agents from actually doing their job.
One of my colleagues from Illinois flies National Guard duty over the
southern border and talks about how different groups will overwhelm a
single Border Patrol agent. And understand that a majority of those who
are trying to cross into America will get in. Some won't, but a
majority will. And it is worth the risk to many.
Frankly, if we weren't living in this great country, we would
probably want to be here too. This is a wonderful country that is the
beacon of hope for so many throughout this globe.
But we also have to take into consideration the impact that it has in
this country. And we need to make sure that we put policies in place
that allow our border to be secure by making sure our Border Patrol
agents have the tools and the ability to address the problem that both
of you have addressed so well this evening.
So thank you again for being here. Thank you again for being willing
to stand up, because it is not an easy issue to talk about. It is not
an easy issue because it has become so politicized. But I commend you
for that because we have to stand up and take courage. We have to take
courageous stances, and we have to take courageous votes that may not
make all of our constituents happy. But these are opportunities to
lead, and that is exactly why we all came to Congress.
Again, thank you to my colleague.
Ms. McSALLY. Thank you, Mr. Davis, for your kind words and your
support.
I come from a very diverse district and a very split district. I won
by 167 votes to get here. So we are a very diverse and split district.
But I will tell you, this is a unifying issue, even in my district.
When I look at the things that are going to unify us, it is making sure
that we are safe and secure and have economic opportunity. Throughout
my district, people agree we need to secure the border.
Now, they also want to look for thoughtful solutions to modernize and
revamp our legal immigration system so that those who want to come here
to work and are going to contribute to our economy have a legal way to
do that. We need to work on those challenges as well. As we talk about
it in southern Arizona, we need a high fence and a wide gate, sort of
metaphorically.
What that means is, let's focus our border security on transnational
criminal organizations and the public safety and national security
threat, but we also need to make sure we have got good economic
development and opportunities for individuals to come here legally, and
also for commerce to be able to flow, which is a separate issue. They
often get lumped in together and oftentimes these issues get hijacked
by others who have other intentions that are trying to politicize it.
But I think every American--Democrat, Independent, Republican--can
agree that they want their families to be safe and secure from
transnational criminal organizations. I can't find anyone who doesn't
agree to that.
So why is this not an issue that would unify this body? Why is this
not an issue that we could work together on within our party and then
across to the other side of the aisle to actually get the job done, to
use commonsense solutions, to give the situational awareness, the tools
they need, to hold Homeland Security accountable, to secure our border
once and for all, direct a better strategy sector by sector, to provide
that situational awareness and operational control?
I strongly support this bill. I appreciate the leadership of Chairman
McCaul, my colleagues who have joined me here tonight, and others who
have gotten behind this bill. And I want to urge those who are watching
and listening to please call your Congressman, tell him to support the
Secure Our Borders First Act, and let's get this thing through the
House, through the Senate, and signed by the President.
This is not time to play politics with border security. The residents
and the ranchers in my community cannot wait any longer in order to
have that fear go away so that they can feel like they can sleep well
at night and their livelihood is not at stake and their families are
not at risk. We owe it to them to take action.
Let's figure out how to unify, work through any sort of solutions
that we need to in order to get to a commonsense agreement, and let's
pass this bill.
[[Page H979]]
Mr. Speaker, with that, I yield back the balance of my time.
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