Richard Gephardt: “I urge Members to vote against this amendment, and I say that with an understanding of the gravity and importance of…”

“I urge Members to vote against this amendment, and I say that with an understanding of the gravity and importance of this problem. The first duty of Government is to protect the safety of its citizens, and probably right along with that is the duty to protect the borders of the United States and to see that illegal immigration does not take place. Like many of my colleagues in the chamber, I have been on the border many times, the Canadian border, and I have been to places like Miami, where illegal immigration occurs, and I have been on the border with Mexico. The truth is that we are not making a sufficient effort with the Immigration Service to make sure that illegal immigration does not take place. Perhaps we need to bring the Immigration Service bill back up on this floor. I am prepared, and I think a lot of Members are prepared, to appropriate additional moneys to make sure that our borders are secure. I am convinced that we can do a far better job than we are doing.”