Susan Davis: “It is with this great respect for my colleague who has the best of intentions that I rise in opposition to his amendment…”

“It is with this great respect for my colleague who has the best of intentions that I rise in opposition to his amendment because the San Diego border fence project creates a false sense of security, endangers border patrol agents and diverts needed resources. The project's goal is to create a 14-mile long layer of three separate fences intended to prevent anyone from crossing the border from Mexico into the United States. Securing our borders, as you all know, has long been a challenge, particularly because doing so must be balanced among our chief goal of protecting security and yet enabling legitimate cross-border travel, promoting commerce and protecting civil liberties. Clearly, we need a sustainable border infrastructure plan that can accommodate the projected growth in legal border crossings. However, instead of viewing the border landscape as one filled with obstacles that cripple us, we should use this as an opportunity to bring about long-needed change. Border security is critically important to protect the country from terrorists and to stem the flow of undocumented immigrants.”