Congressman Pete King

Immigration

As the grandchild of immigrants I strongly believe that immigration is the lifeblood of our nation. Immigrants bring the energy, vitality and initiative which make America such a unique and prosperous nation.

Immigration, however, must be legal. If we do not control our borders, we will not control our future. This is especially true since September 11th. In a very real sense, border security is homeland security. Yet, in the years after 9/11, millions of illegal immigrants continued to come across our border with the total number of illegals exceeding 12 million.

To establish operational control of our borders. I introduced the Border Security and Terrorism Protection Act of 2005 (H.R. 4312). This legislation mandated a 700 mile fence along the Mexican border along with gates, walls, obstructions, cameras, sensors, satellite imagery and UAV’s to provide 100% coverage for the rest of the border. It also increased the number of border patrol agents and called for a joint strategic plan between the Department of Homeland Security and the military. This legislation did not allow amnesty for illegal immigrants. H.R. 4312 passed the House of Representatives becoming the most comprehensive border security legislation to pass the House in two decades.

While H.R. 4312 did not pass the Senate, parts of the bill have become law including the 700 mile fence (P.L. 109-367) and large increases in the number of border patrol agents. I am pleased that progress has been made and control of our borders is improving.

More needs to be done, however. The federal government must (a) aggressively go after private companies which hire illegal immigrants and (b) increase support for local police departments which assist in apprehending illegal immigrants. As Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Committee, I will continue to do all that I can to stop illegal immigration and I will never back down to politically correct special interests or their allies in the liberal media.