[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18416]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     ENHANCING THE WAR ON TERRORISM BY REDUCING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Flake) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to continue a series of 
discussions I am having on the unforeseen and undesirable effects 
resulting from our Nation's current immigration policies.
  There has been much talk in recent years about ``holding the line'' 
against the flood of illegal immigrants flowing across our Nation's 
borders. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in my comments last week, our 
recent attempts to control the border have not been a resounding 
success. I certainly do not believe that our Nation's borders should be 
left wide open. Especially today, in light of terrorist threats, we 
must know who is entering the country and leaving the country.
  Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, we currently have very little idea who is 
entering the country outside of the legal ports of entry on the border. 
Some have estimated that 700,000 illegal immigrants breach our borders 
every year.
  We can try to tighten our border enforcement even more than we 
already have, but as long as the U.S. offers Mexicans more opportunity 
for work than Mexico does, for example, people risk their lives to 
cross the border.
  According to Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies, 
``A real effort to control the border with Mexico would require perhaps 
20,000 agents and the development of a system of formidable fences and 
other barriers along the parts of the borders used for illegal 
crossings.''
  I believe the wisdom of embarking on such a project is questionable, 
at best. Rather, I would submit that a program that allows these 
workers to enter the country legally is a smarter national security 
strategy.
  Regularizing the flow of workers across the U.S.-Mexico border will 
give the Federal Government the opportunity to get a handle on who is 
present in the United States. It will also free up resources for border 
security and the war on terrorism.
  While there are border crossers who have malicious intentions, 
locating them among the throngs of illegal immigrants is akin to 
finding a needle in a haystack. By drastically reducing the number of 
illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, we can shrink that 
haystack and more easily target those entering the U.S. who wish to do 
us harm.
  We in Arizona recently saw an example of the troubling violence that 
can occur when criminal aliens are not apprehended. A United States 
Park Ranger at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Kris Eggle, was 
shot and killed while chasing Mexican drug smugglers last summer. 
Eliminating the majority of illegal border traffic would make it easier 
to track down and prosecute criminals like Chris Eggle's killer.
  The vast majority of those entering the country illegally are looking 
for the opportunity to work hard and improve their lot in life, not to 
commit terrorist acts. According to statistics provided by the Border 
Patrol, only 1 percent of those apprehended on the southwest border are 
come into the U.S. to commit crimes.
  Permitting those already present in the United States to participate 
in the program would also encourage millions of currently undocumented 
workers to register with the government. Shrinking the undocumented 
population would provide less cover for terrorists who do enter the 
country and attempt to blend in.
  A temporary worker program would deal a severe blow to the black 
market that currently supports illegal immigrants as well. The demand 
for people smugglers, fraudulent documents, and other enterprises that 
facilitate illegal immigration would be greatly reduced.
  Mr. Speaker, regularizing the flow of undocumented migrants entering 
the country will greatly improve our Nation's border security, help us 
fight the war on terrorism, and redirect resources that have not been 
used effectively through our current immigration policy.

                          ____________________