[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 8888-8889]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   INTRODUCTION OF THE DEPLOY NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS TO THE BORDER ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HARRY E. MITCHELL

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 20, 2010

  Mr. MITCHELL. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of bipartisan 
legislation I introduced earlier today with my colleague Representative 
Dana Rohrabacher of California: The Deploy National Guard Troops to the 
Border Act.
  The Federal Government has a responsibility to secure the border, and 
it simply hasn't

[[Page 8889]]

done it. As a result, we are once again facing an emergency. Not just 
an emergency at the border, I might add, but an emergency in the 
interior--in places like Phoenix, where smugglers and Mexican drug 
cartels have set up vast networks of drop houses, which operate as way 
stations for their illegal activities. The crime and violence 
associated with these drop houses is horrendous. Phoenix has become a 
kidnapping capital.
  This is completely unacceptable.
  While, undoubtedly, Congress needs to secure the border and fix our 
broken immigration system--the situation at the border cannot wait 
simply because it is an election year. This is an urgent threat to our 
national security.
  I have urged President Obama to send additional National Guard troops 
to the border, much like I urged President Bush to extend the 
deployment of National Guard troops to the border in 2008. Sadly, to no 
avail.
  That is why, today, I am introducing legislation to deploy 3,000 
National Guard troops to the border to assist U.S. Customs and Border 
Protection.
  Taking this step will help secure the border while Congress works on 
a more comprehensive, permanent fix.
  The National Guard has successfully assisted with border security in 
the past. Operation Jump Start, which concluded its mission in 2008 
proved remarkably effective. According to the U.S. Customs and Border 
Patrol, the Yuma Sector experienced a 68-percent decrease in 
apprehensions between October 1, 2006, and July 31, 2007, compared with 
the previous year. Border-wide, the National Guard helped seize more 
than 1,080 vehicles used to transport drugs and/or illegal immigrants, 
more than 300,600 pounds of marijuana, and 5,060 pounds of cocaine.
  I thought the National Guard was drawn down too quickly and offered 
an amendment at the time to extend their deployment. Unfortunately my 
amendment was blocked from floor consideration.
  I know there are strong views about immigration reform, and I know 
this is an election year. But we cannot let petty political concerns or 
inflammatory rhetoric to continue to compromise our national security. 
We cannot continue to kick this down the road for future Congresses to 
deal with. Now is the time to tone down the rhetoric, come together and 
take this critical step.
  I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass this bill, 
and continue to work on a permanent security solution, as well as a fix 
to our broken and ineffectual immigration system.

                          ____________________