Date: 2009-06-09
Speaker: LORETTA SANCHEZ (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

cently on May 28. 2009. fornia. Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong The Border Patrol is one of the most support of House Resolution 498. hon- public faces of the Department of oring and congratulating the United Homeland Security. For those who States Border Patrol on its 85th anni- arent familiar with the differences. versary. and I yield myself as much the Border Patrol covers the areas betime asI may consume. tween the ports of entry as opposed to As the chairwoman of the Committee the -ports of entry. The 18.000 men and on Homeland Security Subcommittee women in green work every day along for Border. Maritime and Global Coun- the borders and coastlines of the terterrorism. I have been fortunate United States. often in some of the enough to visit the border several most rugged and challenging terrain. .times to see firsthand the good work of I have this outsized map here that the Border Patrol. I have seen it. not the Marfa sector of the Border Patrol just on the southern border with Mex- had given me from Texas. And this is ico. but also that with Canada. just one small section of the border. These dedicated men and women pa- but I wanted to use it to illustrate a trol Americas borders. often in harsh few points. Marfa. Texas. is one of the climates. in isolated conditions. under more. lets just say. rural parts of dangerous conditions. in order to keep America. which is why it was featured our Nation secure. in "No Country for Old Men." "There Representatives of Customs and Bor- Will Be Blood." because it was such a der Protection. the Border Patrol. and * kind of an undeveloped area. The area at the bottom on the point is the big bend of Texas that you see. Thats Big Bend National Park. Those mountains in that area. the Chisnos. are about 7.000 feet. A lot of people think our border is just flat and that it would be very easy to see all the problems coming through. but. in fact. its very mountainous. The far northwest edge of this map. in the western side of the Marfa sector. is Presidio. Presidio is a point of entry. That point of entry. for example. its called Presidio because it was a fort. and thats where General Pershing. for example. chased Pancho Villa across. Theres no other legal point of entry for hundreds of miles as you go across that border through Big Bend and up until the far side. which is near Lake Amistad and Del Rio sector. These areas are very vulnerable to penetration by any number of things. And a lot of times the Border Patrol. as well as illustrating that the National Park Service has a huge chunk there. huge chunk over in other parks. that this border is not simple. and that when people say. Cant you just put a couple of thousand agents there and control the border. well. no. it is an incredible challenge. During my time in Congress. I have had the opportunity to visit almost every Border Patrol sector on the north and south borders. Theres 2.000 miles on the south. 4.000 miles on the north. The challenges are diverse. and the criminal element seeking to exploit our open borders are inventive and have significant resources. Drug smugglers are using helicopters. ultralight aircraft. fast boats. and something as simple as coyotes. forcing illegal aliens to carry 50pound loads of drugs on their back to bring in contraband. The challenge is endless and the mission is critical. In the 6plus years that the Border Patrol has been in the Department of Homeland Security. their agency has doubled in- size. Congress has provided authorization funding for hundreds of miles of fencing and vehicle barriers. which combined. total over 600 miles. Efforts to provide additional technological resources to the Border Patrol through the SBInet program. that should. when complete. provide an additional capability to detect and respond to illegal entry. A sign that the efforts to gain operational control of the border are working is the growing drug cartel violence -in Mexico. Nearly 8.000 people have been killed in drugrelated violence in Mexico. Its a tragic situation. and it is absolutely critical that we continue to support and strengthen the Government of Mexico. headed by President Calderon. At the same time. we must further strengthen our own border security efforts. and cannot be dependent on another nation doing that. The Border Patrols years of honorable service have not been without loss. To date. 104 agents have lost their lives in duty to their country. Additionally. hundreds of assaults. from rockings to Molotov cocktails to threats on their lives occur every year to our Border Patrol agents. [ 1930 As we celebrate the 85th anniversary .of the Border Patrol. it is important to remember and honor the agents who hive paid the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country. Luis Aguilar is the most recent who was run over by a drug smuggler trying to flee. As the guards of our borders. the Border Patrol is an important layer of security and often the last line of defense in preventing dangerous people and goods from entering the United States and infiltrating the U.S. communities: The Border Patrol cannot let down their guard as criminal organizations are continually looking for vulnerabilities in our security to bring in contraband. The consequences of a drug load that slips through the layered defense are significant. Abcording to the Department of Justice. in 2007 almost 32 percent of -high school seniors used marijuana in the past year and 5 percent had used cocaine. The vast majority of these drugs are smuggled across our borders. The reality of postSeptember 11. 2001. is that terrorist organizations may also seek to exploit openings along our borders to smuggle operatives or potential weapons. In the week since their anniversary. May 28. the Border PatrSl has apprehended six alien gang members and four convicted sex offenders. seized three guns. six trailers carrying contraband. including one with 40 illegal aliens. seized 16.609 pounds of marijuana. five vehicles and an ultralight aircraft. And my favorite is about 6 a.m. last Sunday. agents spotted an individual on a surf board approximately 200 yards offshore paddling north of the international border in Imperial Beach. The surfer was holding a blue duffel bag. He released it as agents approached. Soon after. the blue duffel floated ashore and was inspected by Border Patrol agents and had five packages of marijuana with an estimated street value at $75.000. Theyre creative. if nothing else. and our Border Patrol has to be creative and persistent in response. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this resolution and to honor the Border Patrol. express support for their important mission and pledge support to enhance their capabilities to gain operational control over our border. [From www.cbp.gov. Mar. 23. 2009]