The head of the U.S. Border Patrol said last week that he believes the U.S. has a good shot at controlling the border between Mexico and Arizona by the end of this year. Do you believe that is possible?
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Posted on 03/06/2004 7:27:39 PM PST by Spiff
Renzi: Border help on the way this year
BY BILL HESS Sierra Vista Herald/Review
SIERRA VISTA, ARIZONA - U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi said Saturday that a technology curtain is coming down to stop the flow of illegal activities crossing from Mexico into the United States.
Using a football analogy, the Republican who represents Arizona's District 1, which is mostly in the northern part of the state, said, "We are going to run a zone defense."
As more high-tech equipment becomes available, it will be put out and used along the border, especially in Arizona, he told nearly 140 people who attended a luncheon sponsored by the Cochise County Republican Committee.
There are ground sensors, towers and unmanned aerial vehicles that will be added, along with more U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector, Renzi said. The agency will have 2,000 agents in the sector, which includes the county, by this summer, he added.
By using unmanned aerial vehicles, Renzi said up to 250 people who have crossed the border illegally can be tracked at a time.
"The technology curtain combined with more manpower is what this border will look like soon," Renzi said.
The congressman also said that plans for a new guest-worker program have to be shelved until the federal government can prove the border is controlled.
President George W. Bush's proposal "is a little ahead of its time," Renzi said. The president has proposed a guest-worker program that, in part, would allow current illegal immigrants who have no criminal records to seek legal status. Bush has said he doesn't approve of amnesty for illegal immigrants.
Until the international boundary is better controlled, stopping the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who cross the border the American people, primarily those who live in the danger zone, are not going to support a more open border idea, Renzi said.
U.S. citizens are a compassionate people, but they do not support any guest-worker program without including ways for Mexico to do better for its own people, he added.
Renzi kept his speech to issues of importance to Cochise County residents.
A 1976 graduate of Buena High School, Renzi said he was called an outsider and non-Arizonan when he ran for his seat in the House of Representatives. He will likely face Democrat Paul Babbitt, brother of former Arizona governor and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, in his race to keep his seat this year.
But years ago when, as Renzi put it, "I landed at Fort Huachuca." He said he fell in love with the Sierra Vista area. His father, now a retired Army major general, was assigned to Fort Huachuca.
Attending schools in the area led him to consider himself an Arizonan and a Sierra Vista boy. "I'm a Buena Fighting Colt," he added.
Saying he will not take a back seat to anyone about having concerns for Arizona and Cochise County, Renzi said it is important to protect "our home, our fort and our river."
Fort Huachuca is critical to the nation's security, Renzi said. He said his decision to find a way to relieve post officials from being responsible for most of the water use in the Upper San Pedro River Basin was important. Renzi introduced language into a House bill that was eventually refined into an amendment called the Fort Huachuca Preservation Act, which was passed by the House and Senate.
While the Base Realignment and Closure process is under way, Renzi said everyone has to show the post is necessary, especially regarding the forefront on the war against terrorism.
"We need to protect the fort to protect our national security," he said.
The rebuilding of the Army's human intelligence capabilities must continue, and that can be done only at the post, he added.
When it comes to the "River of Saint Peter," Renzi said he spent many days along the San Pedro River when he was young and wants it to be saved. He believes that can be done by people in the area working together.
The Upper San Pedro Partnership and other groups and individuals will succeed by saving thousands of acre-feet of water each year to the chagrin of radical environmentalists, Renzi said.
Expanding his discussion to international affairs, Renzi said that what is happening in Iraq will eventually lead to democracy, but it will not be fast and problem free.
The United States is being helped by forces from 34 nations and that shows some in the international community believe in what the U.S. leadership is doing, he said.
"It is the next generation that is bringing hope," he added.
Stability is still off, but every day it is becoming clearer that most Iraqis want freedom, Renzi said.
SENIOR REPORTER Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
It'll take them about a week or so to completely end the problem if persons illegally crossing our borders.
L
Did Presidente Fox give his OK on this?
I'm a skeptic, too. Though I'm always hopeful that the masses will wake up and demand that the borders be controlled and illegals thrown out.
The head of the U.S. Border Patrol said last week that he believes the U.S. has a good shot at controlling the border between Mexico and Arizona by the end of this year. Do you believe that is possible?
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Sorry to hear that.
My situation is a little different. Up until 2002 where I live, was in Missouri's 2nd Congressional District and Todd Akin, Republican, was my Rep. He's one of two Missouri Congressmen in Tom Tancredo's Immigration Reform Caucus which I thought was great. In 2002, we had gerrymandering, I mean re-districting, and Slick Dick Gephardt had a big hand in this. I ending up in the 1st District with Democrat Lacy Clay, CBC member, as my Rep. all the while Gephardt was carving up the St. Louis area to keep his advantage in the 3rd District. Akin, or Akin's people used to write back to me when I'd write him. Clay never does.
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