US Rep. Sue Myrick's Opening Statement for the August 25, 2006 Immigration Field Hearing titled “Empowering Local Law Enforcement to Combat Illegal Immigration”. 
Statement prepared for the House Committee on Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources

I’d like to thank Chairman Souder for taking time out of his busy schedule to conduct this hearing in North Carolina.

I would also like to thank all of you in the audience today who took the time to come.

I know many of you have taken time off of work to hear about an issue that is one of the most important we in Congress are working to address.

Illegal immigration no longer affects only border states.

North Carolina’s explosive growth illegal immigration has greatly changed our state in the past decade and we are not the only state dealing with the new dynamics presented by a growing foreign-born presence.

This is a national problem that challenges the core beliefs of our country and has national security implications of grave importance.

We are a nation of immigrants.

Probably all of you know about your ancestral heritage – about your grandparents or great grandparents who immigrated to the United States.

And the vast majority of Americans, I think, are well aware of the economic and societal benefits of legal immigration. 

However, we are also a nation of laws.

Immigrants who enter our country illegally have undermined a fundamental tenant of our society:  Respect for the law.

We in Congress are largely responsible for the illegal immigration crisis we’re trying to fix.

For years, efforts to protect our Southern border were hampered by the Federal government turning a blind eye to the ever-growing problem.

Consequently, the illegal immigrant population in the United States grew to the estimated 8 to 13 million illegals here today.

This doesn’t even include the children of illegal immigrants born in the country, who are automatically granted citizenship.

The influx of illegals is straining our schools, our social services, and law enforcement.

State and local governments, bearing a great deal of the costs associated with illegal immigration, are fed up with the Federal government not carrying out its responsibilities to protect our borders and enforce immigration laws.

They are right to be angry about this dereliction of duty.

Even more troublesome is the very real possibility Islamist fundamentalists have slipped into our country to commit acts of terror – this is a very important part of this problem.

What is going on in the Middle East today with Iran funding, training, and supporting terrorists and the hate for America being generated by Islamic fascism is no secret.

They have made clear what they want to do – kill us.

The images on TV of Iranian troops marching, and young people in the stands saluting was an image of 1938 Germany all over again.

The world vowed it would never happen again.

These same people have access through our border.

The Department of Homeland Security and Congress are currently working together in an effort to secure our borders.

Some progress is being made and the National Guard troops have helped.

There is a great deal of work to be done.

I truly believe our borders can be secured if adequate resources and manpower are allocated.

Unfortunately, interior states – like North Carolina – are still fighting an uphill battle to get the needed tools to deal with illegal immigration.

I am especially concerned that Immigration and Customs Enforcement - the agency charged with investigating, apprehending, and deporting criminal illegal aliens – does not receive the resources it needs.

Because ICE is, for the most part, the only Federal immigration enforcement entity working in interior states, they face a monumental challenge trying to enforce our immigration laws.

The 287(g) program, which will be discussed at length this morning, is a great force multiplier.

It gives local and state law enforcement agencies the authority to assist ICE in apprehending criminal illegal aliens and begin the deportation process.

I’ve heard from a number of local law enforcement officials who’ve said they want to take a more active role in ridding our communities of criminal illegal aliens.

The law enforcement community’s mission is to provide public safety.

But unfortunately, jurisdictional issues often leave local law enforcement officers’ hands tied when it comes to dealing with criminal illegal aliens.

The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office entering into the 287(g) program has been a great example of how properly trained law enforcement officers can assist ICE and the Department of Homeland Security with the huge task of enforcing immigration law.

Illegal immigration cannot be addressed by law enforcement alone.

I, along with several of my colleagues from the North Carolina delegation, have been working tirelessly to get an immigration court established here in North Carolina.

It makes no sense whatsoever that North Carolina, a state with an estimated 300,000 plus illegal immigrants, the 8^th largest illegal population in the country, does not have an immigration court.

When someone is cited for an offense, they are told to show up in Atlanta for a hearing.

Fat chance!

They won’t drive 4-8 hours to get there!

This is especially frustrating when there are 15 states with smaller populations of illegals who DO have immigration courts.

Immigration Courts are managed by the Executive Office for Immigration Review and I don’t fault them for their lack of resources as we’re working to fix that by increasing their funding. 

However, I do fault them for not dispersing their resources in a logical manner that places courts in areas with the greatest need.

We will also discuss legislation that I have introduced in response to a number of tragic deaths resulting from illegal immigrants driving under the influence of alcohol.

Emily Moose, the mother of Scott Gardner, a constituent of mine who was killed by a drunk driver illegal immigrant, will testify today.

The man who hit Scott’s car had a number of previous convictions for DWI.

Unfortunately, he was able to slip through the cracks and remain in our country illegally.

Similar accidents took the lives of two other constituents of mine:  Jasmine Lawrence and Min Chang.

These tragedies should never have happened and we must do everything we can to prevent them from occurring again.

The Scott Gardner Act, which I introduced last year, requires mandatory deportation for illegals after their first DWI conviction.

The legislation also requires local law enforcement to enter illegals charged with DWI into the National Criminal Information Center’s wants and warrants section so this information would be regularly available to all law enforcement officers during the normal course of duty.

I’m pleased to say that this amendment is in the House-passed immigration bill and was agreed to by voice vote.

If the Congress is unable to pass a border security bill, I will continue efforts to get the Scott Gardner Act passed as stand alone legislation.

It is simply too important for this legislation not to be enacted.

I look forward to this field hearing and hope that we can all gain a better understanding of the challenges facing Federal, State, and local law enforcement trying to cope with increasing numbers of illegal and criminal illegal aliens.

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