John Cornyn: “Yesterday the Department of Homeland Security told local law enforcement to keep their eyes peeled for a Somali man…”

“Yesterday the Department of Homeland Security told local law enforcement to keep their eyes peeled for a Somali man believed to be in Mexico for a period in order to make an illegal crossing into Texas. DHS believes this man has ties to an organization affiliated with al-Qaida. Maybe he will not come to Houston. Maybe he will go to some other city in this great country of ours. We simply don't know whether this individual or the 45,000 other-than-Mexican citizens who have immigrated illegally across our border represent a national security threat. If we look at the countries they come from--Pakistan, Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism, Somalia, Yemen--it could mean something very bad will happen as a result of our dereliction of duty to secure the border. It is unfair to criticize States for trying to protect themselves when the Federal Government will not do the job instead as it should. I urge colleagues to support this fully paid-for amendment to help beef up border security. The point of order that will be raised is simply an effort to deny the fact that we are in a state of emergency and we need to act now to secure the border.”