Securing the borders of the United States to protect
against the entry of terrorists, drug smugglers, and illegal aliens
– while keeping them open for legitimate visitors and commerce
– is one of my highest priorities.
The
security of the United States and its citizens should be the first
and foremost consideration in formulating border and immigration
policies. Before the September 11 attacks, some people believed
that it was not necessary to either effectively control our borders
or collect important information about foreign visitors and other
immigrants welcomed into our country. September 11 demonstrated
the flaw in that thinking: Knowing whether terrorists are trying
to enter the country, and whether visitors abide by their visas
and respect our laws, are legitimate issues to be addressed in
counterterrorism and immigration policies.
Consider the profound effects that legal and illegal
immigration can have. When people enter the country legally, they
demonstrate their respect for our laws. We welcome foreign visitors
to Arizona, who appreciate our wonderful climate, natural treasures,
and southwestern hospitality, and support our local economy. When
foreign workers enter legally, they can be matched with certain
hard-to-fill or specialty jobs, offering skills to improve our
communities, while earning a decent wage and having the chance
to enjoy the American dream. Family reunification can be facilitated
when people, in good faith, abide by our laws as they seek entry
into our country.
By contrast, illegal entry creates a series of problems.
Our natural environment is damaged by many thousands of illegal
border crossers, who trample sensitive lands and leave tons of
trash behind them. Local governments are forced to devote an increasing
share of scare resources to deal with illegal immigrants, as well
as combating violent human traffickers and criminals who cross
our border to take advantage of our open society – which
in turn diminishes the ability of local governments to provide
improved resources for their own citizens. Health care providers,
who are obligated by Federal law to provide emergency care to
illegal aliens regardless of their ability to pay, are compelled
to cut back or eliminate emergency services, which impacts the
ability of Arizonans to obtain care from hospitals and physicians.
Turning a blind eye to illegal immigration, or sanctioning
such behavior, undermines the rule of law in our country. It mocks
those who wait patiently, sometimes for years, to enter the U.S.
through legal channels. It encourages more people to immigrate
illegally with the expectation that they, too, might benefit from
some future amnesty. Any reform of our nation’s immigration
laws should be careful to avoid amnesty by any name.
When the federal government fails to secure the
border, immigration-related costs to state and local governments,
and American citizens, can skyrocket. For example, a study by
the U.S.-Mexico Border Counties Coalition estimated that hospitals
in Arizona were required to provide a whopping $100 million to
$200 million a year in uncompensated health care for illegal aliens.
Think what that means to health-care delivery in
Arizona. A mother about to deliver her baby may encounter clogged
emergency rooms and long wait times because hospitals must devote
scarce resources to also treat illegal aliens. Since they are
not compensated for the care they are required to provide, hospitals
have only a few choices: pass on the costs to paying patients
(usually American citizens); absorb the costs; or limit (or eliminate)
services they provide to the community.
Recognizing that health-care providers and state
and local governments are required to bear these costs because
of the federal government’s failure to secure the borders,
Congress has begun to provide reimbursement. Before 2001, Congress
reimbursed some of the states that were most affected by illegal
immigration just $25 million a year; Arizona’s hospitals
were unable to obtain a significant portion of that funding. That
changed when, as a member of the Senate Finance Committee and
a member of the House-Senate conference committee on the Medicare
prescription-drug bill, I won passage of $1 billion through 2007
to reimburse hospitals for the federally mandated, but uncompensated,
emergency medical care they provide to illegal immigrants. And
I made sure Arizona is finally assured a fair allocation of those
funds. I have continued to pressure the Mexican government to
expeditiously accept the transfer of stabilized Mexican patients
from Arizona hospitals when those Mexicans are illegally in the
U.S. and unable to pay for their care.
Aside from uncompensated health-care costs, communities
are also required to bear the costs of arresting, prosecuting,
and jailing illegal immigrants who commit other crimes. According
to a study by the University of Arizona, those costs amounted
to as much as $125 million per year – and that was just
in the 28 southwestern border counties in Arizona, California,
New Mexico, and Texas. I have recently introduced legislation
(described below) that would ensure the Federal government reimburses
States and localities for the costs incurred in dealing with such
criminals.
As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s
Subcommittee on Immigration, and chairman of its Subcommittee
on Terrorism and Homeland Security, I have played an active role
in improving security along the border. On July 20, 2005, I joined
Senator John Cornyn in introducing the Comprehensive Enforcement
and Immigration Reform Act (CEIRA). Our bill would authorize significant
increases in personnel and funds needed to control our borders
and to enforce the immigration laws in the interior of the U.S.
CEIRA contains overdue fixes to numerous long-standing problems.
Among other things, it would prevent the release of dangerous
criminal aliens until they were removed from the U.S.; combat
document fraud through increased training; enhance detention space
to deter illegal migration; and reimburse Arizona for the funds
expended enforcing Federal immigration laws. CEIRA would also
ensure the immigration laws are enforced at the workplace, by
requiring employers to accept only improved identity and work
eligibility documents, increasing penalties and fines against
non-compliant employers, and providing funding for a corps of
worksite investigators. CEIRA contains a temporary worker program
that would allow businesses to employ foreign laborers on a temporary
basis after proving that no U.S. workers are available. It will
also call on foreign governments to do their part by agreeing
with the U.S. in bilateral agreements to quickly accept repatriation
of their citizens who are illegally in the U.S., assisting in
reducing criminal gangs and human trafficking, and controlling
illegal immigration.
CEIRA does not offer an amnesty to illegal
aliens – they would have to depart the U.S. within 5 years,
and are encouraged to depart earlier through a series of inducements.
Like many Arizonans, I do not believe that foreign nationals should
profit from having illegally entered the U.S. by converting their
status to that of lawful permanent residents (which is the pathway
to citizenship). If “amnesty” means anything, it means
receiving an advantage for citizenship from illegal activity.
CEIRA is one of the latest bills that I have cosponsored
to solve our immigration problems; but I’ve been working
to secure the borders and to ensure the integrity of the immigration
system for years. Among other things, I wrote the provisions of
the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act
of 1996 that boosted the number of Border Patrol agents to protect
our borders. I also secured over $200 million for the Customs
Service to hire more inspectors and procure more high-tech equipment
to help detect terrorists. I helped write the Border Security
and Enhanced Visa Entry Reform Act with a bipartisan group of
senators. The Act significantly overhauled visa-processing and
border policies, and speeded the implementation of the United
States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT)
program. US-VISIT has now been implemented at all air, sea and
land ports through which visitors to the U.S. are permitted to
enter.
I have worked every fiscal year from 1995 through
2006 to improve and increase U.S. assets on the southern border
through a variety of appropriations bills. I have secured increased
funding for Border Patrol vehicles, patrol stations, equipment,
and infrastructure; border fences and vehicle barriers; detention
facilities and bed space; SENTRI lanes; records modernization;
interior enforcement; and additional legal staff to process criminal
aliens.
The latest appropriation for the Department
of Homeland Security includes funding for a host of initiatives
that I have long advocated for Arizona. These include a total
of nearly $9 billion for securing the nation’s borders with
increased personnel. Those monies include $1.7 billion for hiring
of 1,000 new Border Patrol agents and $1.4 billion to increase
detention capacity. The appropriation also funds a variety of
other projects I have sponsored, dedicating $1.3 billion to DHS
investigations and intelligence programs, adding 250 additional
investigators to enforce worksite and other immigration laws,
and supporting the $536 million expansion of the U.S. Customs
and Border Protection’s air and marine capabilities. Further,
$35 million is appropriated for the construction of tactical infrastructure
along the Arizona border, such as roads, barriers and lights.
These investments, known as “force multipliers,” will
dramatically improve the Border Patrol’s ability to reach
and provide coverage of the more remote sections of the desert.
They will be augmented by the construction of new Border Patrol
stations in Willcox and Sonoita, providing bases for operations
as well as processing and detention facilities. A total of $3.3
billion is included for first responder grants and assistance;
$40 million for grants to States to implement the REAL ID Act
of 2005, which standardizes requirements for state-issued drivers’
licenses and makes them harder to counterfeit; $1.3 billion in
grants to support state, local and urban governments’ efforts
to equip, train and exercise personnel and assess their levels
of emergency preparedness; $400 million for local law enforcement
grants related to terrorism prevention; and $655 million in grants
for upgrades and improvements for local firefighters, emergency
medical personnel, and other first responders. Finally, the bill
sets aside $340 million to continue the development of US Visitor
and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US VISIT).
As chairman of the Senate
Subcommittee on Terrorism, Technology, and Homeland Security,
I invite you to visit the Subcommittee’s
website to learn about additional efforts I’ve undertaken
to better control our nation’s borders, fight terrorism,
and improve homeland security.
