Making Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2010
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Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I also wish to speak to the amendments that have been offered by Senator McCain, Senator Kyl, myself, and Senator Hutchison with regard to border security.
One thing we cannot lose sight of is that the failure of the Federal Government to deal seriously with border security leaves all of the border States basically on their own. We have heard a number of people who criticized the State of Arizona for dealing with this issue the best they can. But what are they supposed to do if the Federal Government does not step up and deal with its responsibility, which is a Federal responsibility?
We talked about the violence, particularly relating to the cartels, with 23,000 Mexicans killed since 2006 in these drug wars. Right across from El Paso, 1,000 people have been killed in Ciudad Juarez, which is literally across the river, like Virginia is from Washington, DC. We have seen the spillover effect in American citizens being killed and living in fear on this side of the border.
We cannot forget there is also an important war on terror issue here as well, something we have not talked about very much but something I was reminded of yesterday when the Department of Homeland Security issued an alert to police and sheriff's deputies in Houston asking them to keep their eyes open for a Somali man believed to be in Mexico preparing to make a crossing into Texas. The Department of Homeland Security in this announcement believes this man has a tie to an organization affiliated with al-Qaida. I say to my colleagues, maybe this individual is not coming to Houston to stay in Houston. Maybe he is coming to the State of one of my colleagues or their town where they live. It demonstrates again why this porous border represents a national security problem for the entire country.
I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks a list of other-than-Mexican illegal immigrants.
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Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I have in my hand a list of the countries from which individuals who have been detained at the border have originated. In 2009, 2 people from Afghanistan were apprehended on the southern border; 10 from Iran, a state sponsor of international terrorism, as we know; 10 have come from Iraq; 19 from Pakistan; 12 from Somalia; and 3 from Yemen. Out of a total of 45,000 other-than-Mexican citizen immigrants apprehended at the border, these are just some examples of why our porous border represents a national security threat in the global war on terror.
There is also another reminder in the news recently where two F-16s had been dispatched to intercept an ultralight aircraft flying across the border into Arizona. Some 200 ultralight aircraft have been detected in 2009 alone. These ultralight aircraft do not require a license to fly. They typically fly so low to avoid any radar detection. It is estimated by the Department of Homeland Security that some 600 of them have flown into the United States, primarily transporting huge loads of illegal drugs, of course, being sold on America's streets to our children, among others.
From these two facts--the fact that we have other than Mexican citizens who simply want to come to work using the porous border, both Mexico's porous southern border and our southern porous border, and to come into the United States for unknown purposes, perhaps to do us harm--it is obvious our current border security measures are inadequate to deal with this new phenomenon of ultralight aircraft transporting drugs into the United States and perhaps transporting back to Mexico the bulk cash that is generated from these drug sales, further funding illegal drug activity and the cartels that are causing so much mayhem on our southern border.
The problem we have with our broken immigration system is that it is simply not perceived as credible by the American people. Until we deal with this broken border, we are not going to be able to deal with other aspects of our broken immigration system, and I would support an effort to do that. But it seems to be that our colleagues on the other side too often seem to view border security as leverage or a bargaining chip they are not willing to give up unless they get something else for it. But it is, in fact, the Federal Government's responsibility to deal with this situation, as the President himself has acknowledged in his recent announcement to send 1,200 additional National Guard to the border. I will tell you that it is a welcome gesture, but it is no more than that--a gesture. These 1,200 National Guard on a 2,000-mile border--you can imagine how many gaps in the effort of border security will still be left. That is why I support the McCain amendment and the Kyl amendment to provide additional National Guard on a temporary basis.
Our National Guard is already severely stressed because of the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, our all-volunteer military forces. What we need to do is provide a permanent solution, not a temporary solution, and that means more Border Patrol, more ATF, DEA----
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. CORNYN. All the boots on the ground that we need to make our border security efforts credible.
I yield the floor.
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Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, yesterday the Department of Homeland Security told local law enforcement to keep their eyes peeled for a Somali man believed to be in Mexico for a period in order to make an illegal crossing into Texas. DHS believes this man has ties to an organization affiliated with al-Qaida. Maybe he will not come to Houston. Maybe he will go to some other city in this great country of ours. We simply don't know whether this individual or the 45,000 other-than-Mexican citizens who have immigrated illegally across our border represent a national security threat.
If we look at the countries they come from--Pakistan, Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism, Somalia, Yemen--it could mean something very bad will happen as a result of our dereliction of duty to secure the border. It is unfair to criticize States for trying to protect themselves when the Federal Government will not do the job instead as it should.
I urge colleagues to support this fully paid-for amendment to help beef up border security. The point of order that will be raised is simply an effort to deny the fact that we are in a state of emergency and we need to act now to secure the border.
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