Congressman John Campbell

In 2006, Congress made positive strides on this front. We appropriated over $4.2 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which constitutes a one year increase of 21%. We provided the border patrol with a budget of $2.2 billion, which allows for the hiring of 1,500 new agents and the placement of 6,700 additional detention beds. We passed H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act, and H.R. 4830, the Border Tunnel Prevention Act, which both became law. Together these bills will authorize the construction of 700 miles of dual layered security fencing along the southern border and toughen the criminal punishments for those convicted of using,   constructing, or permitting illegal entry into the nation by means of an underground tunnel. I am committed to fight for continued funding for this fence and the needs of our border patrol agents.

Unfortunately, the illegal immigration crisis lost precedence in the House in 2007. Despite my efforts and those of other members of the HIRC, no legislation addressing our open Southern border or the 15 million illegal aliens currently residing in this country was brought to the House floor for a vote. Accordingly, I am not confident that current House leadership is serious about engaging these problems in 2008 and I have found myself now working primarily to oppose attempts to provide illegal aliens with amnesty and expanded benefits.

Last June, I was pleased to see S. 1639, the DREAM Act, fail to gain enough support to be brought to the floor of the Senate. This bill would have weakened border enforcement and instituted mass amnesty for those that have broken our laws. However, no alternative immigration policy has been allowed to replace this defeated bill in either chamber of Congress.

One such alternative is H.R. 2954, the Secure Borders FIRST Act, of which I am pleased to be an original cosponsor. This is strong, enforcement-first legislation that would mandate that the Department of Homeland Security gain operational control of all our borders within the next six years. Additionally, it would authorize additional border-security personnel, require expedited removal for any illegal aliens apprehended within 100 miles of the border within two weeks of entry, and make alien street gang members deportable and inadmissible. Unfortunately, this bill has been sitting in committee even though it has over fifty cosponsors because current House leadership is unwilling to allow it to be brought to the floor for a vote.

However, I am encouraged by the recent introduction of H.R. 4088, the Save Act. I was happy to cosponsor this legislation that does some, but not all, of what must be done. This bill provides a modest increase in border patrol agents, aerial surveillance equipment, and motor vehicles for Customs and Border Protection. Additionally, this legislation mandates that all employers use the E-Verify Program which requires the Social Security Administration to share “no-match” information with Homeland Security. Employers would also no longer be able to deduct the wages they pay to illegal aliens from their taxes. I am already a cosponsor of H.R. 2508, a bill to require Federal contractors to participate in the E-Verify Program, so I strongly support this aspect of the SAVE Act. I sincerely hope House leadership will quickly bring this bill to the floor and finally begin addressing our immigration problem.

Our nation has a proud heritage of legal immigration, but we should not allow this to mask the current disrepair of our border and immigration policies. This year has been largely unproductive so far, but I will continue fighting to secure our borders and prevent amnesty.

I remain respectfully,

JOHN CAMPBELL
Member of Congress

April 1, 2008:

Unfortunately, construction setbacks on the border fence have continued in 2008. In March, the Office of Homeland Security postponed the completion date for a 28 mile “virtual fence”, the cornerstone of the President’s Secure Border Initiative, for three years. This is inexcusable negligence by our government and I am disappointed at the consistent disregard and casual attitude of this Administration towards securing our borders. Project 28, as this multibillion-dollar system of radar and surveillance cameras is known, was intended to supplement hundreds of miles of physical fence and be the initial and most technologically advanced phase of securing our southern border.

Despite these delays, I have renewed my efforts to secure our southern border and make the border fence an imperative issue in this Congress. I recently signed a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) urging her to set the completed construction of the border fence as a top legislative priority this year. Specifically, this letter asks that the House act quickly to require double-layered fencing and remove bureaucratic hindrances that would block completion. Additionally, I am proud to be a cosponsor of both H.R. 4987, the Fence by Date Certain Act, and H.R. 5124, Reinstatement of the Secure Fence Act.  These bills would reinstate the Secure Fence Act’s specifications on fence location and require that all fence construction be fully funded and completed by June 30, 2009.

December 19, 2007:

Regrettably, it appears that Secretary Chertoff will not have the opportunity to complete the planned 700 mile long, double-walled, pedestrian fence in 2008 due to lack of funding. Despite my vote in opposition, on December 17, 2007 the House passed H.R. 2764, an omnibus spending bill that included 11 appropriations measures. This legislation contained funding for Homeland Security and, more specifically, border security. I voted against this legislation for a number of reasons and was particularly frustrated that Democrat leadership completely failed the American people by drastically under funding the border fence and our border patrol. Additionally, House leadership included intentionally vague language in this bill which will both slow down construction of the fence and reduce it from a double layered wall to a single layer. Instead of taking this opportunity to show unanimous support for securing our open, southern border and encouraging the quick completion of the border fence, the Democrats have chosen to bankrupt the task while simultaneously awarding billions of dollars in worthless earmarks to wasteful projects.

After passing the Senate, H.R. 2764 was sent to the President to be signed into law. While this is a sad day for those of us who understand the need for strict immigration law enforcement and a protected border, it is by no means the end of our effort. Although this bill has hampered construction and extended the timeline for completion, some of the fence will still continue to be built. However, we will need to make legislative changes in the 2008 to ensure that it is completed, double-walled, and properly controlled.

Rest assured, I will continue to fight any further legislative efforts to reduce, eliminate or block funding for the border fence in the House. This fence is a critical portion of my overall commitment to “enforcement-first” immigration policy. I will be monitoring construction progress very closely and will be working to restore border security funding in 2008.

October 26, 2007:

After passing both chambers of Congress, the President signed the Secure Fence Act calling for a 700 mile long pedestrian fence along our southern border. In December 2007, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff reported to Congress that 156 miles of the pedestrian fence have been completed, along with an additional 115 miles of vehicle fence. The Secretary predicts that, with proper Congressional funding, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will build an additional 225 miles of pedestrian fence and approximately 200 miles of vehicle fence next year. This would expand the total fence along the Southern border to over 700 miles.

Building a fence along our border is no different than any other construction project; it is expensive and takes time. I am confident in Secretary Chertoff’s dedication to this important project. The frustrating delays are primarily being caused by the pre-construction work – namely, environmental studies and gaining access to the land. The DHS must find the best government contractor who will do a superior job for the money allotted; it costs up to $3 million per mile of fence and maintenance is equally as costly. In addition, there is the added responsibility to ensure that each one of the contractor’s employees is highly skilled and legal. The DHS must also work with the Border Patrol to decide where the fence should be built and how to compensate private landowners who lose property due to the new fence.

At this time, 200 of the non-federal land owners have either not responded or refused to give the DHS permission to access their land. On Friday, December 7, letters will be sent to these 200 land owners notifying them that Department of Justice will file appropriate pleadings in court on behalf DHS to gain access to these lands for survey and site assessment.