Posted on 10/04/2006 8:19:08 PM PDT by axes_of_weezles
Cornyn: 700 miles of border fence won't happen Senator says plan isn't practical, doesn't have the necessary funds.
By Eunice Moscoso WASHINGTON BUREAU Wednesday, October 04, 2006
WASHINGTON — Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican and key liaison to the White House on immigration, said Tuesday that 700 miles of fencing approved by Congress for the United States' southern border will probably not be built because of a lack of money and other practical considerations. "It's one thing to authorize. It's another thing to actually appropriate the money and do it," he said.
Cornyn predicted that some fencing would be built as part of a comprehensive strategy that includes more Border Patrol agents, more technology, more detention facilities and various physical barriers.
"There's different kinds of fencing. . . . There's the old fence post and barbed wire, and then there's the virtual fence, which is a combination of physical barriers, people and technology, and I think, in the end, that will probably be how this is addressed," he said.
Cornyn added that 700 miles of fencing would not solve the problem of illegal immigration because it would still leave about 1,300 miles of unfenced border.
"I'm not sure that's the most practical use of that money," he said.
In many border areas, the federal government would have to figure out how to compensate land owners for the property used for the fence, which raises a lot of practical questions, he said.
In addition, residents in the Rio Grande Valley, El Paso and South Texas are concerned that a fence could harm legal trade and commerce back and forth across the border, which is key to jobs and the economy in those areas, he said.
Cornyn defended the Senate vote for the fencing, saying it was a symbolic gesture to show that Congress is serious about protecting the border.
The Senate cleared the bill late Friday, and President Bush has said he would sign it. But Congress approved only $1.2 billion for fencing, barriers and other infrastructure in a separate homeland security measure. Estimates for the 700 miles range from $2 billion to $7 billion.
Also Tuesday, the 7-year-old son of an illegal immigrant and community leader made a plea to President Bush to halt deportation hearings for his mother, Elvira Arellano.
Arellano made national headlines in August when she refused to surrender for deportation and took refuge in a Methodist church in Chicago. On Friday, a federal judge refused her latest attempt to remain in the country.
The boy, Saul Arellano, was a guest at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute conference.
At a press conference, the boy held up a letter he said he wrote to Bush asking for a meeting.
"I want you to know that there are more than 3 million children like me. We are U.S. citizens, but the government is taking away our mothers and fathers," the letter said.
White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said that the White House received the letter and will review it but that all individual immigration matters are referred to the Department of Homeland Security.
emoscoso@coxnews.com
Additional material from staff writer Tara Copp.
How about both. They dont need an amendment just a Supreme Court reading on existing laws relating to the 14th Amendment.
Depressing. Our lib-biased media takes his statements out of context and their is a feeding frenzy to diss a good senator who WANTS TO FULLY FUND BORDER SECURITY.
Cornyn was *criticizing* the symbolic gestures and wants the fence *funded*.
Another Cornyn statement, unfiltered by the media ...
Cornyn: Immigration Reform Must Address Public Safety
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
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WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship subcommittee, made the following opening statement during the Judiciary Committee’s hearing, titled, Examining the Need for Comprehensive Immigration Reform II:
“Thank you, Chairman Specter, for holding this hearing today on a topic of great importance to the country.
“Over the past year, we have seen how illegal immigration is affecting communities that, until recently, viewed the problem as a Texas issue, or an Arizona issue, or a California issue.
“Last week, this Committee heard testimony from Mr. Louis Barletta, the Mayor of Hazleton, Pennsylvania: a city of 22,000 people. Though the city is thousands of miles from the southern border, its Mayor testified that Hazleton’s municipal services are “buckling under the strain” of illegal immigration.
“Some of the burdens of which Mayor Barletta spoke are, of course, nothing new for Texas, whose local governments and hospital systems have struggled financially for many, many years because of illegal immigration.
“But I am wary of the effort by some to portray all illegal immigrants as hardened criminals, gang members, or terrorists. That is simply not true.
“The overwhelming majority of illegal immigrants work hard, support their families here and at home, and contribute to our society. When there is a shortage of U.S. workers, our immigration laws should allow those workers to enter our country through legal channels and work temporarily in the United States.
“But we also cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that, amidst the millions of tourists, workers and immigrants who enter our country each day, some will be criminals.
“I’m talking here about people like Angel Resendiz – otherwise known as the “railway killer” – who authorities have been able to link to 15 victims – at least 8 of them in the U.S. Resendiz was executed just a few weeks ago, after a killing spree that spanned 23 years.
“I have documents showing that this murderer was arrested by authorities and deported, back across our southern border, no less than 20 times, and from these records, one can infer that he freely crossed the border many more times, as he had a common law wife in Mexico’s Durango state.
-more-
“Resendiz was arrested in multiple locations – from as far north as Sterling Heights, Michigan, where he was found in a boxcar at a Ford Motor Company plant – southeast to Miami, where he was convicted on burglary, auto theft and aggravated assault charges, to San Bernardino, California, for trespassing and possessing a firearm, to El Reno, “Oklahoma, for presenting false documentation and falsely reporting himself as a U.S. citizen.
“We simply cannot allow a system to continue which affords criminals like Angel Resendiz the opportunity to cross our borders, with impunity, and victimize innocent Americans.
“But right now, our immigration system does a poor job of distinguishing between those who are coming to work and those who are coming to commit crimes.
“It is for that reason that I favor a comprehensive immigration bill. I believe that addressing the 12 million illegal aliens already here in the U.S. will enhance public safety in several important ways.
“Investigators, prosecutors and judges could focus on dangerous illegal aliens and repeat offenders. The government could dedicate additional detention space for criminal illegal aliens – 80,000 of whom have already been ordered deported but never left the country.
“And by issuing secure identification to all aliens, state and local police will be in a better position to determine whether routine stops are more than just routine. There are over 700,000 members of state and local law enforcement around the country, and these officials are the ones most likely to encounter a criminal alien or suspected terrorist – most often in the context of a stop related to a minor offense.
“While police officers have access to centralized terrorist screening centers, that access is worth little if the police officer is unable to determine the individual’s real identity. By requiring all immigrants to carry secure identification, and eliminating the market for fraudulent and forged documents, we will ensure both the safety of our law enforcement personnel as well as the safety of the American people.
“Thank you for the opportunity to comment, and I look forward to the testimony of our distinguished witnesses.”
Sen. Cornyn will serve on the conference committee that will reconcile the differences between the House and Senate immigration bills. Sen. Cornyn has played a key role in the Senate immigration reform debate and continues to work to bolster border security and implement comprehensive immigration reform.
Cornyn and Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) authored a separate bill titled: The Comprehensive Enforcement and Immigration Reform Act (S.1438). The key components of their legislation include enhanced border security and interior enforcement, employer accountability, and reform to bring the current illegal population into compliance with the law.
Another Cornyn statement:
http://cornyn.senate.gov/index.asp?f=record&lid=1&oid=17&rid=237209&pg=1
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), chairman of the Immigration, Border Security and Citizenship subcommittee, made the following statement Monday at a hearing he chaired titled: Immigration Enforcement at the Workplace: Learning from the Mistakes of 1986.
The hearing explored the need to avoid repeating the mistakes of the 1986 amnesty in any future immigration reform proposals as well as other steps the Department of Homeland Security can take immediately to implement enforcement of immigration laws at the workplace. The lack of adequate workplace enforcement was one of the key reasons the 1986 immigration bill failed.
Over three weeks ago, the Senate passed the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006. That bill contains fundamental flaws, and I voted against its final passage.
But I also recognize that the Senate bill reflects a comprehensive approach to immigration reform. I have consistently advocated comprehensive reform, and I believe that if we can get to conference then we can improve the Senate bill.
And while the differences between the House and Senate immigration bills are numerous, we need to roll up our sleeves and get to work on finding common ground. There really is no other option. I invite anyone who thinks this issue can wait to come down to Texas and see first-hand how illegal immigration is affecting my home state’s schools, hospitals and criminal justice system.
The legislative history of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act — the floor debates and committee reports — reveal how similar the current immigration reform debate is to the one 20 years ago.
Americans were assured then that there would be a “one time” amnesty, and that better enforcement – including a system to prevent undocumented workers from obtaining employment in the United States – would reduce the flow of illegal aliens into our country.
We are now asking the American people to accept the same bargain today, and the cornerstone of this deal is a new electronic employment verification system.
Unfortunately, the Senate has conducted almost no open debate regarding the new employment verification system. Not a single amendment was debated or voted on during the Judiciary Committee mark-up, and less than an hour of Senate floor time was devoted to this issue.
This concerns me not only because I see worksite enforcement as the critical means by which we can reduce illegal immigration, but also because the Secretary of Homeland Security told me that several provisions in the Senate bill would make the system unworkable.
The government is not the only one to express concerns regarding the current proposal. Some groups have expressed concern that an electronic verification system would increase opportunities for employers to discriminate against employees.
Business groups, meanwhile, have also expressed concern with the Senate proposal. Under the Senate bill, an employer might not receive confirmation of a worker’s status for up to 50 days. That lengthy waiting period yields two results – a loophole for unscrupulous employers and a prolonged period of uncertainly for law-abiding employers.
We have a diverse group of witnesses today, including current and former government officials, and I am optimistic that their testimony today will allow us to explore those issues in an open setting and to build momentum for conference with the House.
But a perfect verification system accomplishes nothing if we are not committed to enforcing the law against those who don’t comply. And the government’s track record on employer sanctions doesn’t inspire confidence. In 1999 there were 2,849 worksite arrests for immigration violations. By 2004, that number had dropped to 159.
And in 2003, ICE devoted only 90 full-time equivalent employees to worksite enforcement. Let me repeat that - 90 employees to enforce laws that apply to every employer in the United States.
It is no wonder that many employers view enforcement as a remote possibility and any civil penalties as a cost of doing business. And it is also no wonder that many Americans are skeptical that the federal government is serious about enforcing the laws.
As we discuss these technical issues, we must not lose sight of the bigger question: will this new electronic system eliminate the magnet of illegal employment? It is my belief that we cannot control illegal immigration if we cannot stop illegal employment.
This hearing will explore these issues and it is my hope that we will be in a better position to improve the legislation during a conference with the House.
This article was written by a reporter from the Austin dishrag. Not to sure I believe everything in it. I thought I read that Cornyn said the $$$ was their to build the fence.
If they don't fund and start building the Fence right away the same forces that forced this bill through will re-emerge.
This AIN'T going away.
How do you figure?
I'm guessing that most property owners on the Mexican border would donate some of their land to the government if they'd actually stop the illegals from tresspassing over their property and trashing their farms and ranches.
Mexican government predicts border fence probably won't be built
Coryn must have been their source...
Ca Rep Ed Royce was on LA KFI and said there was enough money appropriated to build the fence in California and Arizona....guess Texas doesn't want it....
Also posted this from the BBC:
BBC: US border fence signed into law ~ Includes Funding....Fence and Personnel...
Is it really so much to ask that these Stupid Party members keep their mouths shut for another month?
It isn't that cheap.....see links above for more info.,..
I hate to burst anyones bubble, as I love Reepers, but:
No fence will be funded(delayed)
the ACLU will sue, and the govt will pretend it needs to go to court(delayed)
alleged private property rights will be studied(forever)
catch & release is still going on to this day
Bush has made it ABUNDANTLY clear he is on the side of the illegals in every single speech since taking office. Nuff said.
I love FReepers, that is : )
Typical Republican Senator, mouthing off with his own opinion and not caring how it affects the party. Even if Cornyn thinks it shouldn't and won't be built, he should not be stepping on one of the few positive stories for the Republican Congress in recent months -- the enactment of the fence authorization. Give your opinion after the election, you pompous fart -- not before.
Illegal aliens are not subjects of the United States and are deported unless they go through legal naturalization procedures. If the parents are not legal immigrants, their offspring are not US Citizens. When GI's have kids in Germany, Italy or Japan they are still US Citizens.
Dont fear the Reepers ;)
Are you saying this Austin American Statesman article using direct quotes from Cornyn is wrong?
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