U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland today voted to build hundreds of miles of fencing and to impose stringent border surveillance to greatly reduce the flow of illegal immigration into the United States.
“The explosion of illegal immigration has greatly affected Georgia and Congress has stalled for too long when it comes to taking dramatic action to address this crisis,” Westmoreland said. “I recently held a series of town halls with constituents of Georgia’s 8th Congressional District; let me tell you, addressing illegal immigration ranks high on the priority list. Georgians are frustrated that Congress hasn’t addressed the problem; I’m frustrated too.
“This is a great start. Closing the border is the first step in the process. We have to stop the flow of illegal immigrants before we fix the larger problem that we’ve allowed to mushroom.
“Border fencing has proven to be an especially effective deterrent against illegal immigration. A 14-mile fence along the San Diego-Mexico border has greatly reduced drug trafficking and the flow of illegal immigration. In the region, illegal alien apprehensions have dropped from approximately 200,000 in 1992 to about 9,000 in 2005. Crime rates have dropped by 47 percent since construction of the fence.”
The Secure Fence Act of 2006 passed 283-138.
The hearings held over August by House Republicans demonstrated that a majority of Americans want Congress to focus on border security first. The Secure Fence Act 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, including:
Authorizing more than 700 miles of two-layered reinforced fencing along the southwest border with prioritized placement at critical, highly populated areas and requiring an evaluation of infrastructure needs along the northern border;
Mandating that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) achieve and maintain operational control over the entire border through a “virtual fence” that deploys cameras, ground sensors, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), and integrated surveillance technology;
Requiring DHS to provide all necessary authority to border personnel to disable fleeing vehicles, similar to the authority held by the United States Coast Guard for maritime vessels; and
Requiring DHS to assess vulnerabilities on the northern border.
