[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15449]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1010
                        SECURE THE BORDERS FIRST

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, the American people overwhelmingly support 
border security, but for some reason, some political pandering pundits 
in Washington, D.C., want to pursue an unwise, open house amnesty 
policy before dealing with the real first important issue of national 
security.
  It's an issue of trust. I don't think Americans believe our 
government will really ever secure the border, no matter how many empty 
promises are made. The reason is too many special interest groups want 
lax border enforcement for their own political agenda.
  Those who want cheap plantation labor and those who want greater 
political power seem to want the border laws we have ignored. The 
motives appear to always be about money or power.
  However, our government would do well to assume its constitutional 
responsibility to protect America. The government has the ability, but 
not the will, to protect the border.
  Congress needs to provide adequate resources for border security. The 
government has the responsibility then to enforce the law and not give 
in to special interest groups. Then we can deal with the people that 
are here illegally after the government proves it has the will to 
secure our homeland.
  And that's just the way it is.

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