April 3, 2008 — Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02), gave the following statement today upon in response to this week’s announcement by the United States Department of Homeland Security that it will waive certain legal requirements in order to complete hundreds of miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We must never lose sight of the nobility of the American ideal that welcomes the downtrodden, the oppressed, and those seeking a better life for themselves and their posterity.  However, in an age of jihadist terrorism, the inability to control our southern border is no longer an option.  This government’s most fundamental responsibility is to provide for the defense of the American people, and we absolutely cannot do that if we do not know who is coming in and out of our country, and what they are transporting.  I applaud the Department of Homeland Security for implementing a measure so vital to our nation’s national security.”

In 2005 alone, over 155,000 non-Mexicans were apprehended while attempting to cross the US-Mexico border, and this represents only a fraction of those who successfully breached the border undetected. Studies have shown that terrorists violate immigration laws or find ways to exploit the loop holes in the current immigration system to more easily execute their nefarious deeds. The 911 terrorists, for example, committed immigration violations. The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) issued a report http://www.cis.org/articles/2005/kephart.pdf in 2005, which uncovered the following facts:

* Of the 94 foreign-born terrorists who operated in the United States, about two-thirds (59) committed immigration fraud prior to or in conjunction with taking part in the terrorist activity

* Of the 59 terrorists who violated the law, many committed multiple immigration violations—79 instances in all
 
* In 47 instances, immigration benefits sought or acquired prior to 911 enabled the terrorists to stay in the U.S. after 911 and continue their terrorist activity
 
In June of 2007, Congressman Franks offered an amendment to H.R. 2638, the Homeland Security Appropriations Act for FY2008, which would have require the necessary funds be used to build the double-layer fence on the southern border of the United States as prescribed in the Secure Fence Act.