CNN Inside Politics - Transcript
CNN Inside Politics - Transcript
Friday, July 29, 2005
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DOBBS: Support is rising in Congress tonight for a new citizen's patrol group for our broken borders. That group would be run by the United States government and it would build on the success of the Minutemen project.
Congressman John Culberson of Texas is leading the fight for a U.S. border protection corps. He's our guest tonight from Washington.
Good to have you with us.
REP. JOHN CULBERSON (R), TEXAS: Good to be here.
DOBBS: Let's start was these volunteers. You -- another Texan, Congressman, as I've just mentioned, has called the Minutemen and other volunteers on the borders: Vigilantes. You're quite a different -- you're at quite the different odds with the president of the United States here.
CULBERSON: I don't believe so, Lou. In fact, the bill that I have filed with 46 co-sponsors of this legislation, is based on the longest and most honorable tradition in America and that is of law- abiding citizens stepping forward as volunteers to be deputized and enforce the law and fill the breech.
In our frontiers whenever the federal authorities can't get there with enough law enforcement or enough military, whenever America has faced a threat, citizen volunteers in the form of a militia have stepped forward and my bill, HR 3622, which I filed today, authorizes a national militia, a lawful group of citizens who would step forward to volunteer; deputized to serve under the governors; to serve under the direction of local and state law enforcement officials; to enforce the law and protect our borders.
Because -- With a focus here, Lou, is America is engaged in a war on terror; with individuals who will sneak into this country. We know that al Qaeda is sending individuals in over the southern border, adopting fake Hispanic identities and America will never win the War on Terror until we secure our borders. So, the focus of my bill is to allow honest law-abiding American citizens who want to help win this war, do so by volunteering in a lawful government-sponsored militia force to deploy along our borders.
DOBBS: Well, Congressman, everything you're saying makes absolutely perfect sense. It makes absolutely no sense that there would be any question in the nation's capitol about the necessity of securing our borders, yet it has not been accomplished in the almost four years since September 11th. How would the volunteers be trained in this border patrol corps and what has been the reaction of those border-state governors?
CULBERSON: I've had a very good reaction from Texas Governor Rick Perry, who is very open to the idea. His homeland security director has informed me the governor's approach initially would be to deploy these citizen militia forces who would be sworn in, again, to uphold the law, have the right to keep and bare arms and use whatever force is necessary under state law and under the direction of local law enforcement officials. In Texas, the intention would be to employ them along the border under the direction of the local sheriff as a neighborhood-watch-border-patrol program.
The key to this, Lou, is that the Congress would sanction this, authorize it. They would be law enforcement officers to protect our borders and there's $6.8 billion of unspent homeland security money that's sitting there untouched. After two years, that would flow directly to these states that -- whose governors step forward and say: We need the help on the border, we want these border protection cops volunteers to come to Texas and we'll pay your reasonable expenses and equip you, train you.
And that money would also pay for housing any individuals that are picked up crossing the border illegally and then the federal officials would have to screen them to be sure there's no terrorists or criminals among them and they would be returned to their home country or prosecuted if they're criminals.
DOBBS: Congressman Culberson, thank you for the innovative idea. Thanks for sharing those...
CULBERSON: Thank you.
DOBBS: ... Thoughts with us and introducing your legislation...
CULBERSON: Thank you.
DOBBS: But we're out of time, but how soon do you think the Congress will take up your legislation?
CULBERSON: I'm very optimistic. I've gotten strong support in the House and I am very optimistic we'll see action on it this fall. The founders left us all the tools to solve our problems, if we'll just step up and use them.
DOBBS: Congressman John Culberson, thank you for being here.
CULBERSON: Thank you, sir.
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