Ted Poe: “I offer this amendment today because the Federal Government has failed to protect our Nation's interiors from illegals.…”

“I offer this amendment today because the Federal Government has failed to protect our Nation's interiors from illegals. We allow thousands a day to enter illegally in this country and do not know where they are or why they are coming here. It is a common understanding among illegals that once they get past the Border Patrols, which only patrols the first inner 30 miles of our borders, and get into the United States, they are home free in America. There are not enough interior officers to capture illegals. What this shows us is we need a new approach, one centered on enforcing the Nation's interior. We send a mixed message when we say we are serious about border protection but give a wink and a nod to those who make it into the interior of this country. They know they will not be captured. With the other Chamber passing sweeping immigration changes today that will undoubtedly place more of a burden on our Border Patrol, and even allow more illegal aliens to settle into the community, it is incumbent on this body to give communities more resources to clean up Federal failures. Increasingly, more of the burden of illegal immigration is falling on the shoulders of State and local governments to absorb the populations into their communities. The problem is particularly troubling in border communities and major trafficking routes in the Southwest. I know because I have been there and I have seen it. Mr.…”