John Cornyn: “I have been here numerous times over the last couple of weeks to talk about why the essential bargain that needs to…”

“I have been here numerous times over the last couple of weeks to talk about why the essential bargain that needs to underlie this bill has to be one that is not based on phony promises such as the ones made in the past about restoring legality and order to our broken immigration system. It actually needs a mechanism that will compel results and realign all of the incentives for people across the political spectrum, Republicans and Democrats alike, to make sure Congress, and the executive branch in particular, keep their promises when it comes to border security. That is what my amendment is about and that is what we will be voting on perhaps in the next half-hour. The underlying metrics contained in my amendment are derived from those in the underlying bill: 100-percent situational awareness and 90- percent apprehension. Some people may question that and say, How can we have 100-percent situational awareness? The fact is by using the technology currently deployed in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Technology such as that was featured in a Los Angeles Times article a few weeks ago called the VADER, a type of radar pilot that was being tested on the western part of the border. With it we can do a comprehensive job of seeing the border. I am not talking about a Border Patrol agent seeing three people coming across the border and not seeing a handful of others who scamper across in some other place. I am not talking about that sort of imprecision.…”