James Traficant: “Mr. Chairman, there are over 2 million illegal entries into the United States each year. The estimated total illegal…”

“Mr. Chairman, there are over 2 million illegal entries into the United States each year. The estimated total illegal population in the United States of America: 3.2 million people. After all the intervention we have, 400,000 adds illegal immigrants to our population each year. We are talking about a security issue. America's greatest and most important front is our border right now. We cannot go out and hire, and do not have the money to hire, all these Border Patrol agents; I want the Congress to understand this. There is officially now one Border Patrol agent for every 2 rac{1}{2} miles of border. This amendment does not force the Secretary of Defense to do anything but to confer and, if necessary for national security reasons, to deploy those troops. I say to my colleagues, Now, if you don't like it all from Europe, change it in conference. Talk about training? My God, what's more needed from our military than a secure America? And, yes, I believe we have some troops falling out of chairs without arm rests, cashing their checks from Uncle Sam, going to dinner in Frankfurt, going to the opera in Italy, and we are in an economic development program over there. "The Cold War is over," I heard everybody say it. Here is what the amendment says: The Secretary of Defense, after consultation with the Attorney General, Customs, INS, Border Patrol, has, as an option, the opportunity to provide some troops.…”