Thread: House speaker, delegation tour Arizona border

http://www.belleville.com/mld/bellevill ... 096523.htm

Posted on Fri, Jul. 21, 2006

House speaker, delegation tour Arizona border over immigratio

ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
Associated Press

NOGALES, Ariz. - House Speaker Dennis Hastert and five other congressmen toured Arizona's border with Mexico on Friday to get a sense of how much help is needed to clamp down on illegal immigration.

After visiting Camp Grip - a remote, permanent Border Patrol desert encampment in the southwestern corner of the state - the group flew to Nogales for a nighttime ride in hilly terrain along dirt roads hugging 10-foot steel fencing aimed at curtailing illegal border crossings.

"I really believe you have to secure the border before a guest worker program works, or before any other program that you want," said Hastert, R-Ill.

"If a patient is wounded and bleeding, the first thing you do is stop the bleeding. And we have a border that is bleeding; we need to heal it."

Hastert said all Americans in all parts of the country are concerned about the issue of illegal immigration.

"Every town's a border town, every state's a border state, and the American people believe that we ought to stop it," he said.

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business ... thispage=2

Michigan's Miller joins House speaker for tour of Mexican border
7/21/2006, 11:52 p.m. ET
By ARTHUR H. ROTSTEIN
The Associated Press


NOGALES, Ariz. (AP) — House Speaker Dennis Hastert, Rep. Candice Miller of Michigan and four other congressmen toured Arizona's border with Mexico on Friday to get a sense of how much help is needed to clamp down on illegal immigration.

After visiting Camp Grip — a remote, permanent Border Patrol desert encampment in the southwestern corner of the state — the group flew to Nogales for a nighttime ride in hilly terrain along dirt roads hugging 10-foot steel fencing aimed at curtailing illegal border crossings.

Border Patrol officials planned three stops along the fence, including one near a highly active location near downtown where agents in vehicles often are assaulted with rocks from Mexico.

"I really believe you have to secure the border before a guest worker program works, or before any other program that you want," Hastert said at an airport news conference a few hours before their late-night tour.

"If a patient is wounded and bleeding, the first thing you do is stop the bleeding. And we have a border that is bleeding; we need to heal it."

Hastert, R-Ill., said he has been to the border about a dozen times as a congressman but the trip was his first as House speaker. "It's tough, tough country," he said.

All Americans in all parts of the country are concerned about the issue of illegal immigration, according to Hastert.

"Every town's a border town, every state's a border state, and the American people believe that we ought to stop it," he said.

Hastert said it was essential to get down to the border as he and Reps. Peter King, R-N.Y., Miller, R-Mich., Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., Bobby Rush, D-Ill., and Charles Boustany, R-La., had done.

"We can sit in Washington and talk and talk and talk and the Senate can pontificate and we can try to move legislation," he said. "Until you get down here, you talk to the people, you see what the topography is about, you see what the problems are, this give you a much better insight."

Hastert said the lawmakers had a frank discussion with Border Patrol agents and National Guardsmen assisting them in the Yuma area — part of President Bush's Operation Jump Start — and asked them what is needed "so we get zero penetration."

Congress is committed to zero tolerance on the border, "but you've got to go down and talk to the people on the border, talk to what they're doing, what the problems are, what they need, what their frustrations are," Hastert said.

The delegation was seeking an understanding of those needs, he said, and "how we can work together in Congress to make our borders safe."

If the United States can work to help secure the borders of Iraq and Israel, "certainly we can work to make sure that our borders are safe across this country," Hastert added.

He endorsed an integration of high-tech to create a virtual fence — using ground-based radar, eyes-in-the-sky, sensors, fencing and vehicle barriers, as well as more personnel.

Kolbe said such a visit was important "for members to see what we have here, to see the difficulties of securing this border."

But he said that guest worker legislation and addressing the reality of 10 to 12 million people in the country illegally must go hand-in-hand.

Rush said securing the border is essential because otherwise, marijuana and other drugs "wind up on the streets of Chicago, wind up on the streets of most American cities, and we have to pay the cost of that."

He said a comprehensive approach is needed — virtual fences, boots on the ground, improved technology, better cooperation with the military.

"We have to secure the borders, then we have to figure out what to do" with the millions in the country illegally, Rush added.

The lawmakers met with National Guard members working at the border in Yuma before flying to Camp Grip, where up to a dozen Border Patrol agents work weeklong 12-hour shifts patrolling along the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge to intercept illegal immigrants and drug traffickers.

On Saturday, the delegation was to fly to El Paso, Texas.

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=69640

UPDATED: Speaker Hastert Delegation and Press Schedule for Visit to U.S.-Mexican Border

7/21/2006 6:06:00 PM


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor

Contact: Ron Bonjean or Lisa C. Miller, 202-225-2800, both of the Office of House Speaker Dennis Hastert

News Advisory:

Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have visited the U.S. border at Yuma, Arizona, and have had a first-hand look at our border security needs as well as how taxpayer border enforcement money is being spent. During this trip the delegation will also visit border security officials in Nogales, AZ, Camp Grip, AZ, and El Paso, TX. The delegation will receive comprehensive briefings on border security enforcement and what is required to get the job done. Prior to visiting the U.S.-Mexican border the delegation visited the district of Rep. Charles W. Boustany (R-LA) in Lake Charles, LA, which was affected by Hurricane Rita. Details of the trip are provided below:

The delegation is comprised of the following members:

Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL)

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Peter King (R-NY)

Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ)

Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI)

Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA)

Rep. Steve Pearce (R-NM)

Rep. J.D. Haworth (R-AZ)

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL)

The following is the delegation press schedule for the remainder of Friday, July 21, 2006 and Saturday, July 22, 2006:

Friday, July 21

9 p.m. (Pacific) -- Nogales, AZ

The delegation will participate in a night tour along the border in Nogales, AZ. They will first visit the border security headquarters to see the camera/communication room and then drive along the border road with agents to spot people crossing.

Media is invited to attend the border tour and must ARRIVE by 8 p.m. (Pacific):

Address: Border Patrol Station, 1500 West LA Quinta Road, Nogales, AZ 85621

Saturday, July 22

10:35 p.m. (Pacific) -- El Paso, Texas

On Saturday, the delegation will visit the Bridge of Americas Port of Entry, which is one of the largest ports of entry in the U.S. The delegation will see border patrol agents screen cars as they come into the United States. In addition to all the standard procedures that go along with border processing, the delegation will focus particularly on counter narcotics. Following the Port of Entry visit, the delegation will be briefed by officials from the Homeland Security Department and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Media availability will be IMMEDIATELY following the Speaker's tour and briefing.

MEDIA MUST ARRIVE BY 9:35 AM

Bridge of Americas Port of Entry

Address: 3600 Paisano Blvd, El Paso, TX 79905, 915-872-5710

Wonder if any of these yahoos have ventured into an overcrowded ER Room or the center of a city gripped with Gang Violence? Hmmmm

How about a once charming town taken over by ILLEGALS and driven into the ground with trash?

Maybe an overcrowded school where FEW speak English?

If they really want to see the effects of ILLEGALS on America, they had better start venturing out instead of using only the border for their political sound bites.