John Spratt: “a few months ago this House passed a bill to get tough with illegal immigration. It stiffened sanctions, it increased…”

“a few months ago this House passed a bill to get tough with illegal immigration. It stiffened sanctions, it increased penalties, and it promulgated a new get-tough approach to illegal immigration. It lacked, however, one essential, the resources to carry out this new step-up in enforcement that it proposed. The bill took steps to open up the door to State and local law enforcement so that you could have local sheriffs and local law enforcement personnel more involved in criminal alien assistance, but it still left the program proposed woefully underfunded. Some years ago I called Atlanta, the regional office of the INS, to report what I thought was a serious immigration violation and to ask for an investigation. I was told there were only two investigatory agents in all of South Carolina, and they had to be used for criminal matters, for really serious deportations. The supplemental that came through this House in March, was passed on March 16 and then went to the Senate, offered a golden opportunity to do something about that shortcoming. The Senate, for its part, seized that opportunity, beefed up enforcement and helped bolt down our borders far better than they are now. The Senate seized the opportunity. Senator Gregg offered an amendment. When the bill was finally finished in the Senate, it added $2.548 billion for border security and for port security in this country, both of which are woefully underresourced at the present time.…”