On the recordJune 12, 2013
Mr. President, I have come to the floor several times to discuss border security. Border security is so essential to people approving the legislation that we pass because most every poll shows when people want an immigration bill, it is premised on the assumption that we are going to have a secured border. I talked yesterday about my amendment, and that amendment tends to be pending. I tried to improve upon the Group of 8 legislation on border security. I will take a few minutes right now--not very long--to discuss why I think my amendment is a good first step at restoring the faith of the American people--in this legislation, but in turn in our government. I would like to mention why it is so important, not just for public confidence--because that is what I have spoken about in the past--but for national security and the defense of the homeland. Being a U.S. Border Patrol agent is a very dangerous job. A former agent said in an interview in the El Paso Times: I was attacked one time by a group of seven men with rocks and I was pretty severely injured. Being assaulted is not really that uncommon. Whether it is rocks being thrown at you or a hand-to-hand combat situation or being shot at, it is not particularly uncommon. We need a bill that will protect our Border Patrol agents who put their lives on the line every day and do their job of patrolling the border.…





