Craig Praises Border Fence Signing

Part of the solution to our immigration problems

BOISE, Idaho - Idaho Senator Larry Craig praised President George W. Bush for signing the Secure Fence Act today. The law authorizes the construction of 700 miles of double fencing along the U.S. border with Mexico to help stop illegal immigration.

"The United States absolutely must secure its borders and gain control of illegal immigration, and this fence is an important part of that effort," Craig said. "I'm very pleased President Bush signed this into law. I have consistently supported measures like this and worked to give the Border Patrol the resources they need to be successful, including more manpower, more detention beds, and better technology.

"Having said that, securing the border is only a part of the solution to our immigration problems. Internal enforcement is another part, and that is improving, but we must also have a workable temporary worker program and a process to screen and track those who want to come here legally to work. Right now, we don't have a process that works, and it's hurting our farmers and diluting our resources. If our farmers can't find enough legal workers to harvest our crops, it won't be long before our supermarket shelves are filled with imported produce."

[30]

Download a printer-friendly PDF version of this press release.