Congressman Hastert Comments on House Passage of Border Security Package

(Washington, D.C.) Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) today made the following statement regarding House passage of three border security bills: The Community Protection Act of 2006 (H.R. 6094), The Immigration Law Enforcement Act of 2006 (H.R. 6095) and the Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2006 (H.R. 4830).

“House Republicans are acting to address America’s border security crisis because it is an important matter of national security. Before we can address any other immigration issues, Congress must ensure that we are providing for security along our borders. I am proud to send these strong measures to the Senate. We’ve been working closely with our Senate colleagues to ensure that Congress can send all of these bills to the President’s desk as soon as possible. With nine of the eleven measures passed, we’re on target to address each piece of our border security package before the House adjourns.”

Following are the measures passed by the House today:

H.R. 6094, the Community Protection Act of 2006

Introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI)

• Detains dangerous aliens who are unable to be deported
• Expedite the removal of alien criminals
• Detains and Deports alien gang members

H.R. 6095, the Immigration Law Enforcement Act of 2006

Introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-WI)

• Reaffirms the authority of state and local law enforcement to enforce immigration laws
• Increases prosecutions of alien illegals
• Imposes “catch & return” instead of “catch & release”

H.R. 4830, the Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2006

Introduced by Rules Committee Chairman David Dreier (R-CA) and Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ)

• Criminalizes the construction and financing of border tunnels