[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 20]
[House]
[Pages 27263-27264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       ESSENTIAL BORDER SECURITY

  (Mr. SMITH of Texas asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this week the Associated Press 
carried a biased and inaccurate story on border security.
  The writer said the U.S. has not prevented ``even one known 
militant'' from crossing our border with Mexico. I guess the person 
caught with a telephone number in his pocket linking him to three of 
the 9-11 terrorists did not count.
  The point of border security is to prevent would-be terrorists from 
entering. Of course, there is no way of knowing how many people did not 
come because they were worried about being caught.
  The reporter then tries to suggest that border security is a waste of 
money and blames the U.S. Border Patrol for deaths in Mexico of 
prospective illegal aliens.
  Most Americans oppose illegal immigration and support our efforts to 
know who is coming into our country and why. They also know better than 
to blame America for Mexico's failure to stop its own citizens from 
making a dangerous trip.

[[Page 27264]]



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