Ryun Announces Signing of the Secure Fence Act
Washington,
Oct 28 -
Rep. Jim Ryun (R-KS) announced today that President Bush signed the Secure Fence Act which authorizes new fencing across 700 miles of the Southern border. Since 1995, Congress has quadrupled spending on immigration related border security and enforcement, from $1.2 billion to $12.7 billion. They have also more than doubled the number of Border Patrol Agents from 5,000 to 12,000.
“I have consistently believed that the first step in addressing our Nation’s immigration crisis is to secure our borders,” said Rep. Ryun. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to enact more comprehensive legislation that will further secure the border, enact real employer verification, and increase penalties for those that violate our immigration laws.”
Ryun recently traveled to Yuma, AZ to survey the building of the border fence and confer with the Border Patrol Agents and National Guardsmen in the area. On that trip he learned that last year 644 persons from countries of interest, such as Iraq, Iran and North Korea, were captured after illegally crossing our borders.
“This is a national security issue that needs to be addressed and I believe the new fencing is a step closer to securing our borders,” continued Ryun.
In addition to the bill signed today, Rep. Ryun voted in favor of the homeland security spending bill that provides $1.2 billion for the fence and added 1,500 new Border Patrol agents.
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