Charles Norwood: “earlier this month was a very somber time for our Nation, in fact, for all freedom-loving people. It was 2 years ago…”

“earlier this month was a very somber time for our Nation, in fact, for all freedom-loving people. It was 2 years ago this month that America and the world watched in horror as terrorist thugs took the lives of an estimated 3,000 innocent people on American soil. Our worst fears were realized, our very way of life was challenged, and our world was changed on that day, perhaps forever. In the days, weeks, months, and now years that have followed, our Nation has responded to that challenge. In the war on terrorism that ensued and continues today, we have led the free world in rooting out these terrorist thugs and in holding accountable those who would harbor and aid them in their insidious pursuits. The challenge and cost has been great, but the stakes are even greater. This is a war we simply cannot afford to lose. Still, Mr. Speaker, for all we have done and all we are doing at home and abroad to secure our homeland, there is a troubling and growing crisis within our borders that has been largely ignored and presents another challenge in securing our homeland that simply must be met. It is a crisis that has created countless innocent victims and that continues to put our Nation's citizens and law enforcement officers in greater and unnecessary danger with each passing day it is not addressed. Mr. Speaker, the crisis I am referring to is America's criminal alien crisis.”