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[Page S1292]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Border Security
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, on Monday, I was in El Paso, TX, to talk
with some of my constituents about the challenges that exist along our
southwest border and how we can work together to address them.
It is almost surreal to have people here in Washington, DC, who have
never been to the border and whose, perhaps, only supposed knowledge is
from novels they have read or movies they have seen. Having spent quite
a bit of time along the border of Texas and Mexico, myself, I can tell
you it is a unique part of our country and certainly a unique part of
my State.
The people you learn the most from are not the elected officials who
serve here in Washington but rather from the Border Patrol, the
sheriffs, the mayors, and countless others who live and work along the
border. They can provide, I think, the kind of expert knowledge that we
need in order to address the challenges that exist.
What they tell me and what I have learned is that there is no one-
size-fits-all, because you can look at urban environments, like El
Paso, or you can go out to Big Bend, which has thousands-of-feet-high
cliffs overlooking the Rio Grande. Obviously, a physical barrier in one
place, like in highly trafficked urban areas, is one situation, but
putting it atop a 3,000-foot cliff is another. So no one-size-fits-all
solution works.
That is why it is important to listen to the stakeholders who live
and work in these communities, and this is key to actually doing
something with the feedback they provide. What I have constantly been
reminded of is that border security is a combination of three parts:
physical barriers in some hard-to-control locations, personnel, and
technology. What is best for a high-trafficked urban area, as I said,
is probably much different than what is good for the vast expanses
between the ports of entry. Figuring out what we need or where we need
it is not a decision that ought to be micromanaged in Washington. It
should come from the experts who know the threats and challenges along
every mile of the border.
While I was in El Paso, we also talked--as we must--about the
important role the border plays with our economy. Border communities in
Texas depend on people and goods moving legally through our ports.
For example, in Laredo, TX, alone, about 14,000 trucks pass each day
through the ports of entry. It is one of the largest if not the largest
land-based port in the United States. These goods need to move legally
through our ports, and any disruption in legitimate international
commerce can have a swift impact on these communities.
For the people of El Paso, for example, border security means much
more than just safety. It means economic security as well. Just as it
is important to keep the bad actors out, it is equally important to
promote efficient transit through our ports for legitimate trade and
commerce.
On Monday, I also had a chance to reconnect with my friend Mayor Dee
Margo, the Mayor of El Paso. Among other things, we talked about the
importance of ensuring that in our efforts to create a strong border,
we are not neglecting our ports of entry.
In recent months, a number of El Paso Sector Customs officers have
been sent to other high-need areas along the U.S.-Mexico border. The
personnel shortage has resulted in increased wait times for both
pedestrian traffic and commerce. Certainly, fewer CBP agents mean a
reduced vigilance in terms of screening out contraband and other things
that we don't want coming into the country. The goods moving through
the ports in El Paso fuel not just the local economy, as I said, but
also that of the entire State of Texas--and, I would argue, of the
Nation. I share the mayor's concerns on the harmful impact these
slowdowns at the ports of entry can have.
As we debate the importance of securing our borders to stop the
illegal movement of people and goods, we shouldn't neglect the
importance of facilitating legal movement through our ports. We need to
do both, whether that means providing additional funding for
infrastructure improvements or scanning technology to make sure the
ports of entry aren't exploited by drugs in vehicles or other places
where they are hard to find. In the absence of scanning technology, if
we are unable to find them, the cartels win, and the American people
lose. We also know that in addition to that technology, we need
additional personnel.
I hope my colleagues listen to the feedback that we have all gotten
from the experts and these local stakeholders and take seriously the
economic impact on our ports of entry as well.
As I said yesterday, I look forward to reviewing the details of the
funding agreement struck by the conference committee, and I hope that,
in addition to physical barriers where appropriate, it reflects these
principles of smart border security, because when we listen to the
experts--the law enforcement officials who work along the border and in
the communities--that is when we move in the right direction, spending
money in a responsible and smart way rather than just pursuing
political agendas from Washington.
