Border Security/Illegal Immigration | Congressman Ted Poe, Serving the 2nd District of Texas

Border Security/Illegal Immigration

I do not support illegal immigration or amnesty for illegal immigrants already in this country. Period. I support immigration, but people must do it legally. Amnesty rewards illegal conduct and only increases the number of illegal immigrants who try to enter America as we have seen in the previous amnesties in 1986 and 1996. As a former judge for over 22 years, I believe very strongly in the respect for the rule of law. I never let anyone get away with breaking the law and immigration laws should be no different. We must vigorously enforce the laws we already have on the books and make some of them stronger. As a new Member of the Judiciary Committee and Immigration Subcommittee in the 111th Congress, I will be deeply involved in these issues and will work tirelessly to secure our border and enforce the rule of law.

We must not forget how the tragic events of September 11th demonstrated the need for heightened security. The 9/11 Commission Report stated that terrorists seek to exploit our vulnerabilities. Our border remains one of those serious vulnerabilities. I have traveled numerous times to many locations along the U.S. – Mexico border in Texas to witness the situation first-hand. Our border, sadly, remains wide open. While the Border Patrol apprehends a million illegal crossers each year, half a million slip through their reach; among them are people seeking to work illegally, human smugglers, drug smugglers, and even possible terrorists. In 2004, the Border Patrol apprehended 650 people from countries that are state sponsors of terrorism. How many were Border Patrol not able to apprehend? How do we know they didn’t bring weapons of mass destruction along with them? These are serious questions that need serious answers.

I overwhelmingly support the recording of everyone who crosses our borders at our ports of entry. We need to know who is coming and who is going and check them against criminal and terrorist watch lists before welcoming them to America. We currently are able to track packages and livestock as they travel across borders, why can't we do the same for people? The U.S. VISIT program is one such program that would do this, but its potential is not being fully realized because of mismanagement and misapplied resources. I have long favored and advocated in Congress the expanded use of the passport as a universal travel document, which could be used in U.S. VISIT. I have been disappointed in this progress. Our border agents currently accept over 8,000 different sets of identification for admission at our borders. This is unacceptable and only leads to fraud. We need to limit this at the very least to one or two documents with the very highest document security standards.

Solving this crisis will not be easy as there are many who want amnesty and support policies that promote more illegal immigration and lawlessness. These are unacceptable in a post 9/11 world. I believe we can start by enforcing the law and showing we are serious about it. We also need to eliminate policies in this country that encourage and ignore illegal immigration; including easy access to jobs with little enforcement of employers who hire illegals, free healthcare, free education, birthright citizenship, policies that don’t promote assimilation, and the inability of local law enforcement to assist federal immigration authorities.

Lastly, the federal government has a responsibility to the states under Article IV, Section IV of the Constitution to protect each of them against invasion. Because of the federal government's inability to secure America's borders, the problems associated with open borders have now been shouldered by our states and local communities. Until the federal government has the will to secure the border, we must encourage and support our states and communities to do what is necessary to stop illegal immigration and ensure that illegal immigrants do not have safe harbor anywhere. To that end, I have long supported the 287g program which helps leverage law enforcement capabilities by allowing local and state law enforcement agencies to assist the federal government, during their normal duties, in the identification, apprehension, and removal of illegal immigrants.

To learn more about the work I'm doing on in this issue in committee, please visit the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law website at: http://republicans.judiciary.house.gov/About/Default.aspx?Section=10

To learn more about my involvements and the work I'm doing with other Members of Congress on this issue, please visit the Immigration Reform Caucus' website at: http://www.house.gov/bilbray/irc/.

To receive further information on my involvements in this or other issues currently before Congress, please sign up for my e-newsletters by visiting my sign-up page.

Important Phone Numbers:
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tip Line to report suspicious behavior - 866-347-2423
US Coast Guard Tip Line to report suspicious behavior - 877-249-2824

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