Westmoreland votes for increased border patrols
Washington,
May 19, 2005 -
U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland spoke out this week to support an amendment that would drastically increase the effectiveness of our nation’s border patrol.
"Our nation’s borders are a joke. But I’m not laughing," Westmoreland said. "Cracking down on border patrol will save lives. Porous borders allow for drug trafficking, human trafficking and out-of-control illegal immigration, which is a major concern for the voters in Georgia’s 8th District."
Westmoreland voted for the CLEAR amendment, sponsored by fellow Georgia Congressman Charlie Norwood, which passed the House by a large, bipartisan margin Wednesday. The amendment was attached to the Department of Homeland Security authorization bill, which also passed the House Wednesday.
The Norwood amendment would clarify and definitively state that local law enforcement officers have the existing authority to apprehend, detain, remove and transport illegal aliens in the routine course of their duty. It would also require the Department of Homeland Security to establish a training manual on this matter and set forth simple guidelines for making that training available.
"Illegal immigration is a difficult issue, but one that this Congress must address," Westmoreland said. We have seen the ineffectiveness of border security, and how the addition of more eyes can make a difference. There are now more ropes in the net.
"During my most recent time in the district, nearly all the questions I received related to the issues of immigration.
"Right now, it doesn’t make sense to prevent law enforcement officers from protecting the people of the United States. There are about 700,000 state and local police officers, compared with about 2,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
"Our customs agents are wonderful, but simply don’t have the physical ability to be in every place to work on enforcement all throughout the interior of our country. In contrast, our police officers encounter illegal immigrants every day, whether it be through a traffic stop or serving a warrant. It doesn’t make sense to stop them from helping enforce our immigration laws."
