Ed Royce: “the Subcommittee on International Terrorism that I chair held two field hearings last week, one in San Diego and one in…”

“the Subcommittee on International Terrorism that I chair held two field hearings last week, one in San Diego and one in Laredo, Texas, on border vulnerabilities and international terrorism. The unfortunate fact is that we live in a time when terrorists want to hit us as hard as they can. And it is elementary that to defend ourselves against these determined and resourceful enemies, our border must be secure or, as the Border Patrol says, ``We must have operational control of the border.'' We don't have that right now, and we don't have that despite a tenfold increase in what Republicans have done to fund homeland security. But we need border fencing. And in Laredo, Texas, sheriffs told us of drug cartels and smuggling rings increasingly well equipped and more brazen than ever in attacking law enforcement officials. The Border Patrol warns of potential terrorists employing these networks to enter our country. Last year, it apprehended illegal border crossers from many countries designated state sponsors of terrorism or countries where terrorist organizations are active. The sheriffs we heard from strongly seconded the Border Patrol's concerns about terrorists crossing our porous borders. Colleagues, immigration reform must be national security reform. ____________________”