Thread: Parties decry border safety, funding lack

http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/politics/s ... 1719c.html

Parties decry border safety, funding lack

By SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press Writer
Last Updated 5:00 pm PST Thursday, March 3, 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic and Republican House members found common ground Thursday in decrying the state of security on the nation's borders - particularly with Mexico - and criticizing President Bush's proposed spending for immigration enforcement.

Lawmakers shared concerns that terrorists may hide themselves among hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and said the Border Patrol doesn't have the manpower or equipment to weed them out.

Particularly vexing to the lawmakers was the federal practice of releasing into the United States non-Mexican immigrants arrested for illegally entering the country so they can await deportation hearings.

"The Border Patrol remains our first line of defense against the entry into the country of terrorists, drug smugglers, gangs, criminal aliens and others seeking to break our laws," said Rep. John Hostettler, R-Indiana, chairman of the Judiciary Committee immigration, border security and claims subcommittee. He added that he was disappointed by Bush's Border Patrol funding proposal.

The lawmakers also said they were disappointed with Bush's spending plan for 2006, which would provide $37 million to hire 210 Border Patrol agents. The intelligence reorganization bill Bush signed last year called for hiring 2,000 more agents a year over five years - nearly doubling the size of the Border Patrol.

Texas Democratic Rep. Solomon Ortiz, whose district abuts the Mexican border, said the "strength of the Border Patrol is dwindling" because 24 more agents from the McAllen, Texas, sector, which takes in several border counties, were deployed with the National Guard for the Iraq war.

Salvador Zamora, Customs and Border Protection spokesman, did not immediately know how many agents have been deployed nationally for the Iraq war.

Meanwhile the numbers of non-Mexican immigrants entering the country are increasing, Ortiz said.

Nearly 40,000 non-Mexican immigrants were released in the country last year, and they came from 135 countries, he said.

Although they are required to report later to authorities for deportation hearings, many do not show up, Ortiz said.

Ortiz showed news video of some of the non-Mexican immigrants being released and dropped off at bus stations. He said some take taxis to Border Patrol stations to turn themselves in and get "walking around papers" - paperwork stating they are required to show up for a deportation hearing. Often they use aliases, he said.

"At least those we stop. Let's be sure we know who they are," Ortiz said. He plans to introduce legislation next week to address some border security problems.

When fiscal year 2004 ended Sept. 30, Border Patrol had 11,100 agents, up from the previous fiscal year's total of 10,700, Zamora said. As of January, the total dropped to 10,700, but the goal is to have 11,200 agents by the end of this fiscal year, he said.

T.J. Bonner, president of the Border Patrol union, said the fine print in Bush's budget actually calls for hiring only 105 full-time Border Patrol agents in 2006. To offset attrition, the Border Patrol would have to hire about 750 agents to add 210, he said.

In a Wednesday hearing, senators from both parties criticized Bush's funding levels for border security. Robert C. Bonner, Customs and Border Protection commissioner, said in the hearing that spending on technology - such as radiation monitors and unmanned aerial vehicles - would help make up the staffing difference.

http://www.sacbee.com/24hour/politics/s ... 1719c.html

Parties decry border safety, funding lack

By SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press Writer
Last Updated 5:00 pm PST Thursday, March 3, 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic and Republican House members found common ground Thursday in decrying the state of security on the nation's borders - particularly with Mexico - and criticizing President Bush's proposed spending for immigration enforcement.

Lawmakers shared concerns that terrorists may hide themselves among hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and said the Border Patrol doesn't have the manpower or equipment to weed them out.

Particularly vexing to the lawmakers was the federal practice of releasing into the United States non-Mexican immigrants arrested for illegally entering the country so they can await deportation hearings.

"The Border Patrol remains our first line of defense against the entry into the country of terrorists, drug smugglers, gangs, criminal aliens and others seeking to break our laws," said Rep. John Hostettler, R-Indiana, chairman of the Judiciary Committee immigration, border security and claims subcommittee. He added that he was disappointed by Bush's Border Patrol funding proposal.

The lawmakers also said they were disappointed with Bush's spending plan for 2006, which would provide $37 million to hire 210 Border Patrol agents. The intelligence reorganization bill Bush signed last year called for hiring 2,000 more agents a year over five years - nearly doubling the size of the Border Patrol.

Texas Democratic Rep. Solomon Ortiz, whose district abuts the Mexican border, said the "strength of the Border Patrol is dwindling" because 24 more agents from the McAllen, Texas, sector, which takes in several border counties, were deployed with the National Guard for the Iraq war.

Salvador Zamora, Customs and Border Protection spokesman, did not immediately know how many agents have been deployed nationally for the Iraq war.

Meanwhile the numbers of non-Mexican immigrants entering the country are increasing, Ortiz said.

Nearly 40,000 non-Mexican immigrants were released in the country last year, and they came from 135 countries, he said.

Although they are required to report later to authorities for deportation hearings, many do not show up, Ortiz said.

Ortiz showed news video of some of the non-Mexican immigrants being released and dropped off at bus stations. He said some take taxis to Border Patrol stations to turn themselves in and get "walking around papers" - paperwork stating they are required to show up for a deportation hearing. Often they use aliases, he said.

"At least those we stop. Let's be sure we know who they are," Ortiz said. He plans to introduce legislation next week to address some border security problems.

When fiscal year 2004 ended Sept. 30, Border Patrol had 11,100 agents, up from the previous fiscal year's total of 10,700, Zamora said. As of January, the total dropped to 10,700, but the goal is to have 11,200 agents by the end of this fiscal year, he said.

T.J. Bonner, president of the Border Patrol union, said the fine print in Bush's budget actually calls for hiring only 105 full-time Border Patrol agents in 2006. To offset attrition, the Border Patrol would have to hire about 750 agents to add 210, he said.

In a Wednesday hearing, senators from both parties criticized Bush's funding levels for border security. Robert C. Bonner, Customs and Border Protection commissioner, said in the hearing that spending on technology - such as radiation monitors and unmanned aerial vehicles - would help make up the staffing difference.