'This Bill is so Ridiculous that, According to the Republicans, Santa Claus
Himself Would be a Criminal for Trekking from The North Pole to Deliver
Holiday Gifts Without a Visa.'
WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The Leading Democrat on the House
Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), tonight condemned
the border security legislation passed by the House of Representatives,
calling it an "extremist" proposal that does nothing to fulfill the 9/11
Commission's recommendations or to secure our borders.
"If we really want to protect our nation from terrorism and secure the
border, we should be fulfilling the 9/11 Commission's recommendations, not
passing extremist, anti-immigration proposals," said Thompson.
Two weeks ago the former members of the 9/11 Commission released a report
card on how well this Congress and Administration are fulfilling their
recommendations to secure this country. The Commission gave numerous D's and
F's, and only one A in the entire report.
The House Homeland Security Committee originally passed bipartisan border
security legislation that included a vital provision to finally require the
Bush Administration to develop a comprehensive strategy for securing the
border. However, the Republican leadership later added numerous
anti-immigrant provisions that made the bill unacceptable.
For example, for the first time ever, and with no exceptions, this bill
makes being in the United States without proper documentation a federal crime.
"This bill is so ridiculous that, according to the Republicans, Santa
Claus himself would be a criminal for trekking from the North Pole to deliver
holiday gifts without a visa," added Thompson.
"Instead of providing the guidelines and resources necessary to fix our
long-broken immigration system and secure our borders, this bill is
essentially devoid of the practical tools our nation needs to fix these
problems," said Congressman Silvestre Reyes, (D-TX). "It has been over four
years since September 11th, and we need real action, not rhetoric. It is
shameful that the political will does not exist to create a bi-partisan,
comprehensive approach to immigration and border security, because such a
system is long overdue. The safety and security of our nation is too
important to play politics."
Thompson and others joined in support of a motion to recommit Rep. Reyes
offered that would have forced the Republicans to fulfill many 9/11 Commission
recommendations and take the steps needed to secure the border, including:
* Recreating the 9/11 Commission on a permanent basis to evaluate
anti-terrorism measures taken since 9/11;
* Providing 12,000 more Border Patrol agents and 8,000 additional
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement inspectors by the year 2010;
* Putting a system of personnel, cameras, sensors, aerial vehicles and
barriers in place to cover 100% of the border; and
* Ending "catch and release" policies by providing sufficient detention
beds.
SOURCE House Committee on Homeland Security - Democratic Office
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Related links:
http://hsc-democrats.house.gov
CONTACT:
Jennifer Porter Gore or Nadra Harrison,
+1-202-226-2616, both for House Committee on Homeland Security -
Democratic Office
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