[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[House]
[Page 8069]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         WE NEED A BORDER WALL

  (Mr. BIGGS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, last week I again visited the Arizona-Mexico 
border. I examined border fencing in the city of Nogales, on the Tohono 
O'odham Indian Reservation, and a working cattle ranch. As an Arizona 
native, I have visited the border many times, and each time I am 
disheartened by what I see.
  Much of the fencing I saw last week would do little to keep illegal 
aliens from crossing the border. In failing to construct a wall, we are 
allowing anyone to enter the United States.
  Border Patrol agents are outnumbered by illegal aliens, drug cartel 
scouts, and human smugglers. The technology in place is woefully 
inadequate. There is no question that our citizens along the border are 
in danger and our national security is in peril due to the unknown 
identities of those crossing our border.
  Mr. Speaker, President Trump won by promising to build a border wall. 
I unequivocally stand with him, but building the wall is only the first 
step to securing our border. We must also increase the number of Border 
Patrol agents, invest in cutting-edge technology, and fully enforce our 
immigration laws. These expenditures and efforts are necessary and 
worth the cost. It is time to do what we said we would do.

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