Secure the Outside Perimeter (STOP) Act of 2005

Mr. Speaker, our brave men and women in the military are accompanied by other brave men and women who work hard to protect us. They are our border agents who guard our international boundaries, and they are now often serving in what amounts to a war zone.

In the fiscal year just ended, over 650 border agents reported being assaulted, the highest number since they began tracking these incidents in the 1990s. Compare that to last year's total of 354, and you have to wonder just how secure our borders are. Even with sensors and cameras and fences, that is not enough. Incidents have increased from San Diego to Nogales, Arizona to the banks of the Rio Grande in Texas. It is clear we are not getting the job done, and our efforts need to be strengthened.

If our agents have to dodge bullets, then who is controlling our borders? Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff said last week that when it comes to illegal immigration, time is not on our side. Mr. Speaker, Congress should take action now to secure our borders. Our Nation is not secure until our borders are secure. That is the necessary and first step to any immigration reform. H.R. 3693 is legislation that America needs now.

Mr. Speaker, illegal immigration is a huge concern to the vast majority of Americans. Some States are welcoming illegal aliens with driver's licenses, in-State college tuition, and access to social services. One has to wonder how can this be. It appears to many that we are rewarding those that break the laws.

Whoever said crime does not pay must not have been talking about those who enter our country illegally. Crossing the border illegally is a criminal act; however, we give these people access to everything you can imagine. Lax enforcement of our immigration policies is making every day payday for illegal aliens.

States other than Texas, Arizona, and California are now more burdened than ever picking up the tab for illegal aliens, with Georgia, my home State, ranking in the top 10 with illegal alien populations.

Hospitals and others are being forced to scrape the bottom of the barrel to look for money, money that should be spent on American citizens and those here legally.

Mr. Speaker, not tomorrow, not the day after that, not next week, not next month, but today, today is the time to stop illegal immigration. H.R. 3693 will do just that.

Mr. Speaker, while home over the past 2 weeks, constituents kept asking me, when are we going to do something about illegal immigration? When are we going to take this problem seriously?

Congress should act now, and one thing is critically clear: Our borders must be secure. Before we do anything else, we must stop the flow of illegal immigrants, and this must be done now.

A hard deadline is important, a date after which we will tolerate no violation of the border, and that is exactly what H.R. 3693 does. It ought not be too much to ask to bring accountability to the prevention of illegal immigration.

For that is what it is all about, is it not? Accountability. Those who break our immigration laws should be held accountable. Those who hire illegal aliens should be held accountable. Those who turn the other way and claim there is no problem should be held accountable.

Mr. Speaker, we have a large and a growing crisis in our country. It is our responsibility to act on behalf of our constituents and our Nation. Simply put, if our borders are not secure, then our Nation is not secure. The time to act is now.