Crowley Opposes Purely Political Border Fence Bill

CROWLEY OPPOSES PURELY POLITICAL BORDER FENCE BILL

Washington, DC - Chief Deputy Whip Joseph Crowley (D-Queens & the Bronx) today decried the Republican last ditch efforts to pass a border fence bill as "neither bolstering national security nor offering a realistic solution to immigration, but a purely political ploy to mislead the American public ahead of the coming elections in November." Despite Congressman Crowley leading opposition against it, the measure passed this afternoon in the House.

"This legislation offers no real solutions, and as proof fails to provide any additional funds to shore up the security at our nation's borders. It cheap election year trick brought to the American public by the Republican leadership in an election year," Rep. Crowley said. "We need to add more agents to patrol our borders, invest in new technology to keep ports of entry secure and create an earned path to citizenship for the almost 12 million undocumented immigrants already living in the United States."

Congressman Crowley, with Democrats, has led efforts to control America's borders. Crowley supported the 9/11 Act of 2004, which called for 2,000 new Border Patrol Agents in 2006 (in contrast to the President's budget, which provided funding for only 210 new agents). Throughout 2005, Rep. Crowley and Democrats fought for the funding for the promised 2,000 new agents. On three separate occasions in 2005, House Republicans voted against efforts to provide this essential border security funding.

As a proponent for comprehensive immigration reform, Congressman Crowley has led efforts for Congress to adopt a three-pronged approach to immigration that mandates strengthening our national borders and ports of entry in the United States, while including provisions for a guest worker program and a plan to naturalize the law-abiding portion of the estimated 10 to 12 million undocumented individuals already living in the country. A comprehensive immigration bill is the only way to keep our nation secure by matching improved border security with better accountability of the large undocumented population in the United States.

Congressman Crowley added, "Proposing a false border fence bill without any funding does not solve our nation's security or immigration needs."

http://crowley.house.gov/news/record.asp?id=881