Ted Poe: “This legislation will turn 26 million acres of land, the same size of all of New England, or 16 States, that are now in…”

“This legislation will turn 26 million acres of land, the same size of all of New England, or 16 States, that are now in the Western part of the United States into vast tracks that will be walled off from almost all human use to the United States except illegals. And here is the reason I say that. This bill is nothing more than another land grab by the Federal Government to restrict land use in America. Under current law, the Border Patrol is prohibited from patrolling these areas in the West and the Southwest. Remember, we are talking about the size of New England. And they are prohibited from doing so because of current law. And this measure will make it actually worse. All in the name of protecting the environment, we are going to restrict land use by our Border Patrol and American citizens. This bill should be called the 'Illegal Immigrants Paradise Land Act' because the area in question under this act will be a safe haven for illegal immigrants.”