Cornyn Backs Renewed Effort To Strengthen Border Security

Press Release

Cornyn Backs Renewed Effort to Strengthen Border Security

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Ranking Member of the Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee, today cosponsored the Border Security First Act, which provides $3 billion in emergency funding for border security improvements, as an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill. Below are excerpts of Sen. Cornyn's remarks on the Senate floor followed by background information on this amendment.

"We know that many individuals who come here want nothing but a better life in America. There are also very dangerous individuals, however, who want to do us harm. Increasingly, Central America and Mexico are a land bridge into the United States for anybody anywhere around the world who wants to come here. That's the reason this emergency funding for border security is so important.

"It's also important that we begin to regain the lost public confidence that the federal government can actually deliver on its promises. We've been telling people for a long time how important it is in a post-9/11 world to know who is coming into our country and why they are coming here.

"We were reminded again about the dangers of our porous borders when on Monday officials with the immigration and customs enforcement service announced that they had arrested more than 100 gang members in Texas. These 121 suspects represent 27 different gangs including the notorious Mexican mafia and MS-13, which is an ultra-violent Central American gang that has come into the United States through our broken borders. More than half of these gang members had criminal charges against them and nearly half of them were arrested on administrative and immigration-related charges. So we are reminded time and time again, as most recently as the daily newspaper yesterday, what the threat is to our country. Yet Congress continues to not do nearly enough to fix it."

The Border Security First Act of 2007 requires and provides funding for the following, among other thin

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