Bush National Guard Proposal a Right Step, but Not Enough

Bush National Guard Proposal a Right Step, but Not Enough

President Bush should be commended for listening to House Members and the overwhelming majority of the American people, according to U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA).

"The President has potentially taken a first step in the right direction with this proposal to send our National Guard to the border, and for calling for additional help for local law enforcement on immigration," says Norwood, a combat veteran of the U.S. Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade. "The speech was a first for not only Mr. Bush, but for any American President in recent history - official acknowledgement of the problems with illegal immigration. We should accept that as a hand out, and get to work."

"However, the specific proposal is too weak in terms of manpower and missions and will not secure our border." Norwood says that deploying only 6,000 troops for a 2,000-mile border is one man per mile over a 24-hour period at best, which won't do enough to slow the flood of illegal aliens pouring into the country across the southern border.

"The American people are tired of waiting for a secure border, they want it now, because they know this problem is getting worse every day we leave our southern border open," says Norwood. "Increased technology and infrastructure is a great idea - but it takes years to get in place, and the public patience on this issue is 100% used up. The people in my district are ready to throw anybody and everybody out of office that won't bring this nightmare to a stop. The plan the President proposed is not what the American people want."

"The President said we can't have a secure border without a new guest worker program," says Norwood. "In fact it's the opposite - we can't have a new guest worker program without a secure border first. There is no way the House will vote for any change in immigration law until the border is shut down to all but legal traffic."

"We have a very good idea of the correct number of people necessary to secure the border with our current infrastructure and technology," Norwood says. "The same figures keep coming back from past Border Patrol demonstration projects, the Minutemen project, and from senior officials at the Department of Homeland Security - somewhere between 36 and 50 thousand troops would do the job. To send 6,000 is a small first step, but many more will be needed in the weeks ahead."

Norwood says the House and Senate should encourage the President's call for troops to the border by committing to provide funding for up to a five-year military deployment of 48,000 troops, estimated at $2.5 billion per year.

Norwood says the President's initial deployment of 6,000 troops should be fully supported in the interim while Congress moves to approve funds for a long-term deployment. "We will have several weeks to observe the lack of impact on halting illegal immigration, while the initial troops will hopefully at least prepare the way for a deployment sufficient to succeed"

However, the long-term advocate of immigration reform says even with a proper National Guard deployment, Congress should reject the President's call for amnesty for illegal aliens already in the country. "Every illegal alien who came across our border today will have a fake power bill and a pay stub showing they were here in '95 within a week. Dozens of them just ripped off one of the largest employers in my district with flawless fake paychecks. So the President's plan is telling would-be lawbreakers that if they can get past the border they are home free. That makes the job of our Border Patrol and National Guard multiple times more difficult. We need to treat illegal immigrants with compassion and dignity, but the end result is that they have to go home and get back in line behind those who play by the rules. Here's the definition of amnesty recognized by folks in Georgia - if you're here illegally, and we pass a law that says you get to stay permanently, that's amnesty."

http://www.house.gov/list/press/ga09_norwood/BorderTroops.html