Perry Says Secure Borders Needed to Protect Against Terrorists, Criminals
From The Wall Street Journal:
Texas Gov. Rick Perry Sunday said the debate over how to handle the surge of unaccompanied children into the U.S. from Central America is distracting attention from the more important issue of protecting Americans from the entry of common criminals and terrorists.
“What we are substantially more concerned about in the state of Texas, and I would suggest to you across this country” are people “coming into the U.S. illegally and committing substantial crimes,” Mr. Perry said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Last month, the Republican governor announced plans to deploy as many as 1,000 National Guard troops to the state’s border with Mexico, at an initial cost of $38 million. “The people of the state Texas will feel that at least the leadership in the state of Texas is doing something to try to make their community safer,” Mr. Perry said Sunday.
The governor said that 203,000 people who have crossed the Mexican border since 2008 have ended up in Texas jails. “These individuals are responsible for over 3,000 homicides and 8,000 sexual assaults,” he said, repeating figures he has cited repeatedly in recent weeks. The governor added that there has been a rise in illegal immigration from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria, “countries that have substantial terrorist ties.”
Mr. Perry’s homicide figures have come under scrutiny in recent weeks, but the governor said he stood by the numbers.
Rep. Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, echoed the idea of a rising criminal and terrorist threat posed by what he called the nation’s “porous” southern border. “Clearly our enemies understand that it is a weakness,” Mr. Rogers said on CNN. He noted that U.S. authorities in 2011 said they had foiled an Iranian plan to “infiltrate people into the U.S. to kill the Saudi ambassador.”
Long simmering disputes over national immigration policy have returned to the fore recently in response to an influx of immigrants from Central America. Since October, 57,000 unaccompanied children from the region have entered the U.S., fleeing violence in their home countries.
President Barack Obama asked Congress for $3.7 billion to stem the surge of unaccompanied children and their families. The money would fund new detention facilities, more immigration judges to process cases, overtime pay for Border Patrol agents and aid to help Central American countries repatriate the people sent home.
As lawmakers showed no signs of being able to reach an agreement on how to deal with the influx of Central Americans, Mr. Obama Friday said the executive branch would act alone on a bundle of executive actions to help undocumented immigrants.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry Sunday said the debate over how to handle the surge of unaccompanied children into the U.S. from Central America is distracting attention from the more important issue of protecting Americans from the entry of common criminals and terrorists.
“What we are substantially more concerned about in the state of Texas, and I would suggest to you across this country” are people “coming into the U.S. illegally and committing substantial crimes,” Mr. Perry said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Last month, the Republican governor announced plans to deploy as many as 1,000 National Guard troops to the state’s border with Mexico, at an initial cost of $38 million. “The people of the state Texas will feel that at least the leadership in the state of Texas is doing something to try to make their community safer,” Mr. Perry said Sunday.
The governor said that 203,000 people who have crossed the Mexican border since 2008 have ended up in Texas jails. “These individuals are responsible for over 3,000 homicides and 8,000 sexual assaults,” he said, repeating figures he has cited repeatedly in recent weeks. The governor added that there has been a rise in illegal immigration from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria, “countries that have substantial terrorist ties.”
Mr. Perry’s homicide figures have come under scrutiny in recent weeks, but the governor said he stood by the numbers.
Rep. Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, echoed the idea of a rising criminal and terrorist threat posed by what he called the nation’s “porous” southern border. “Clearly our enemies understand that it is a weakness,” Mr. Rogers said on CNN. He noted that U.S. authorities in 2011 said they had foiled an Iranian plan to “infiltrate people into the U.S. to kill the Saudi ambassador.”
Long simmering disputes over national immigration policy have returned to the fore recently in response to an influx of immigrants from Central America. Since October, 57,000 unaccompanied children from the region have entered the U.S., fleeing violence in their home countries.
President Barack Obama asked Congress for $3.7 billion to stem the surge of unaccompanied children and their families. The money would fund new detention facilities, more immigration judges to process cases, overtime pay for Border Patrol agents and aid to help Central American countries repatriate the people sent home.
As lawmakers showed no signs of being able to reach an agreement on how to deal with the influx of Central Americans, Mr. Obama Friday said the executive branch would act alone on a bundle of executive actions to help undocumented immigrants.
posted by Sid Cottingham | 1:13 PM
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