Press Release from Senator Jon Kyl and Senator John McCain
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 13, 2011

McCain, Kyl Introduce Enhanced Border Security Plan
Enhanced 10-Point Plan to Better Secure the U.S.-Mexico Border

Washington, D.C.– U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) today introduced the Border Security Enforcement Act of 2011,an enhanced, fully paid for, 10-point comprehensive border security legislation to combat illegal immigration, drug and alien smuggling, and violent activity along the border between Mexico and Arizona, Texas, California and New Mexico.

“Ten years ago, we could not have anticipated the headlines that routinely appear in newspapers today, throughout the country, detailing the dangers along our southern border. While our border with Mexico has always seen some level of illegal immigration, it has not seen the powerful threat of deadly violence that exists today as a result of Mexico’s ongoing war against its drug cartels,” said Senator John McCain. “I recently returned from a visit to our southern border and we are seeing progress along our land borders, but progress is not success. We must remain vigilant and continue to make every effort to secure our border.”

“While Senator McCain and I have successfully fought to increase funding for border security efforts, most in Washington have yet to appreciate that a whole lot more still needs to be done. The Obama Administration claims that the border is ‘more secure than ever,’” said Senator Jon Kyl. “With hundreds of thousands of people illegally crossing the border every year and record drug smuggling and violence, shouldn’t the government be working to completely secure the border? Our plan is a straightforward approach that will actually achieve a secure border.”

Senators McCain and Kyl’s Enhanced Ten Point Border Security Action Plan:

Deploy no fewer than 6,000 National Guard troops to the United States-Mexico border.

Deploy 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents to the United States-Mexico border by 2016 and Offer Hardship Duty Pay to Border Patrol agents assigned to rural, high-trafficked areas. Provide funding for 500 additional Customs inspectors for the southwest border.

Provide increased funding for Operation Streamline.

Provide increased funding for the Southwest Border Prosecutors Initiative.

Provide increased funding for Operation Stonegarden.

Construct double-layer fencing at needed locations along the United States-Mexico border and replace outdated and ineffective landing-mat fencing along the southwest border.

Increase the number of mobile and other surveillance systems and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) along the United States-Mexico border. Send additional fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to the United States-Mexico border.

Provide funding for vital radio communications and interoperability between Customs and Border Patrol and state, local, and tribal law enforcement.

Provide funding for additional Border Patrol stations along the southwest border and explore the possibility of creating an additional Border Patrol sector in Arizona. Create six additional permanent Border Patrol Forward Operating Bases and upgrade existing bases.

Complete construction of the planned permanent checkpoint in Arizona. Deploy additional temporary roving checkpoints and increase horse patrols throughout the Tucson Sector.

More information on the Border Security Enforcement Act of 2011 is also available online.

 
KEY PROVISIONS1) Deploy no fewer than 6,000 National Guard troops to the United States-Mexico border.

Operation Jumpstart, initiated by President Bush in 2006, deployed 3,000 Guardsmen to Arizona. Most of the Guard were recently removed from the Arizona border. Yet, even
with the Guard’s assistance, 220,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended in Arizona last year. And, over half a million illegal immigrants are apprehended border-wide each year.

It is estimated that two to three times that number cross undetected. That means that at
least a million people, conservatively estimated, are still crossing the border illegally each year. The National Guard provides assistance to the Border Patrol and serves as an
excellent deterrent to illegal immigrant crossings. It is unwise, as the Obama
administration has done, to remove the National Guard from the southwest border. The
McCain-Kyl plan would authorize 6,000 National Guard troops for the entire southwest
border (3,000 for Arizona) to help gain control there. ($120 million per year each year,
600 million total)

2) A) Deploy 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents to the United States-Mexico border by 2016. Offer Hardship Duty Pay to Border Patrol agents assigned to rural, high-trafficked areas to improve recruiting efforts.

With increased resources from the Congress, the Border Patrol has achieved a current forceof over 20,000. But, the border is still not secure. Border Patrol attrition (retiring of
agents) will continue to make increases in Border Patrol agents necessary. And, recent
GAO studies have reported that Border Patrol staffing levels are insufficient in many areas, including staffing at checkpoints and public lands and staffing for the border generally.

1,000 agents per year will ensure that enough agents are hired to accommodate retirements and growing and violent threats in the Tucson Sector as well as other Border Patrol sectors around the country. ($300 million per year for five years, $1.5 billion total)

B) Provide funding for 500 additional Customs inspectors for the southwest border. Even
with the addition of 250 inspectors in last year’s border supplemental, most cross-border trade experts have concluded that 200 additional inspectors are needed just for Arizona’s ports. Increasing the number of inspectors by 500 will help ensure that other heavily trafficked ports of entry will have enough personnel to reduce wait times and enhance port security efforts.

3) Fully fund and support Operation Streamline along the southwest border to, at a minimum, ensure that repeat illegal border crossers go to jail for 15 to 60 days.

Where Operation Streamline has been implemented, the number of illegal crossings has decreased significantly. Currently, however, only 70 aliens are prosecuted each day in the Tucson Sector, and, yet, more than 200,000 illegal aliens are apprehended there each year. The Tucson Sector, and other sectors, need additional resources to increase the number of prosecutions. Such an increase, if applied strategically, will greatly deter others from illegally crossing the border. ($50 million per year for five years, $250 million total)

4) Provide funding for the Southwest Border Prosecutors Initiative to reimburse state, county, tribal, and municipal governments for costs associated with the prosecution and pre-trial detention of federally-initiated criminal cases declined by local offices of the United States Attorneys. ($50 million per year for five years, $250 million total)

5) Provide increased funding for Operation Stonegarden, a program that has provided much needed, but limited, reimbursement to local law enforcement agencies for additional personnel, overtime, travel and other costs associated with illegal immigration and drug smuggling along the border. ($100 million per year for five years, $500 million total)

6) Construct double-layer fencing at needed locations along the United States-Mexico border and replace outdated and ineffective landing-mat fencing along the southwest border. ($50 million each year for five years, $250 million total)

7) Substantially increase the number of mobile surveillance systems and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) along the United States-Mexico border and ensure the Border Patrol  has the resources necessary to operate the UAVs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Send additional fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to the United States-Mexico border. ($335 million total for FY 2012, including funding for one UAV estimated to cost approximately $15 million, funding to meet the President’s FY 2012 budget request of $185 million for mobile surveillance and other surveillance systems, and $135 million in funding for at least three Blackhawk upgrades/conversions and acquisition of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.)

8) Provide funding for vital radio communications and interoperability between Customs and Border Patrol and state, local, and tribal law enforcement to assist in apprehension efforts long the border. ($35 million total for interoperable communications technology)

9) Provide funding for additional Border Patrol stations along the southwest border and explore the possibility of creating an additional Border Patrol sector in Arizona. Create six additional permanent Border Patrol Forward Operating Bases, and provide funding to upgrade the existin bases to include modular buildings, electricity and potable water. In a fall 2010 Government Accountability Office study, the Border Patrol reported that distances between Forward Operating Bases is too great and hinders timely response to reports of illegal aliens and their apprehension. ($20 million total)

10) Complete construction of the planned permanent checkpoint in Arizona. Deploy additional temporary roving checkpoints and increase horse patrols throughout the Tucson Sector. ($30 million total, source DHS)

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Rancher tells Congress the way it really is down at the border

DHS testifies at same hearing as border rancher…compare the view of the border situation

Arizona Rancher Blows Away Bureaucrats at Border Hearing

What does “securing the border” really mean?

Restore our Border plan from the Arizona Cattle Growers Association

Immigration Enforcement and Reform Proposal from the National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers

Probationary Presence…another Immigration Law Reform Proposal

Illegal entry and drug smuggling in perspective…what if all this was going on in your front yard?

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