Congressman Duncan Applauds Passage of Bills to Help Secure
Nation’s Borders
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 21,
2006
Washington,
D.C.
– Congressman John J. Duncan, Jr. (R-Tenn.) voted for three
major pieces of legislation that will help increase border
security and crack down on illegal immigration. The three
bills, the Community Protection Act of 2006, the Immigration Law
Enforcement Act of 2006, and the Border Tunnel Prevention Act of
2006, all passed the House of Representatives this afternoon.
They were developed after several House Committees held more
than 20 field hearings in the months of July and August to
examine the issue of border security and identify ways to fix
our Nation’s broken immigration system.
“These bills
further express the House’s firm stance against illegal
immigration and the need to secure our Nation’s borders,” said
Duncan. “Too many illegal immigrants are able to cross our
borders and stress our infrastructure and too many criminals are
able to exploit our immigration laws.”
“I cannot
blame people who want to come to this Country, but they simply
must do so legally. By passing these bills, Congress is taking
the next important step to ensure that our Nation and its
borders are secure.”
Today the
House of Representatives approved the following three border
security initiatives:
-
The Community Protection Act (H.R. 6094),
introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman James
Sensenbrenner (R-WI), focuses on ensuring the safety of the
American people by detaining dangerous illegal immigrants,
removing illegal immigrant gang members, and removing other
criminal illegal immigrants.
-
The Immigration Law Enforcement Act (H.R. 6095),
introduced by Chairman Sensenbrenner, provides the
Department of Homeland Security with additional tools to
effectively enforce our immigration laws, including ending
catch & release, prosecuting smuggling offenses, and making
sure that state & local law enforcement agencies can help
enforce our laws.
-
The Border Tunnel Prevention Act (HR 4830),
introduced by Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-CA)
and Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), establishes penalties for
individuals who construct border tunnels or finance their
construction.
Last week, the
House approved the Secure Fence Act (H.R. 6061), introduced by
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-NY), which
would strengthen operational control of all borders and ports
through additional physical barriers and fencing and greater use
of state-of-the-art technology and surveillance along the
southwest border.