There are few issues as important to Arizonans as securing the border and restoring integrity to our nation’s immigration system.
Insufficient resources dedicated to border security, coupled with a lack of will to effectively enforce the law, have allowed an estimated 500,000 individuals each year to cross our borders illegally or remain illegally in the country after their visas have expired. Arizona bears the brunt of this problem: approximately half of all illegal immigrants entering the United States are apprehended in the Tucson Sector. And the effects are felt throughout our state, with public schools, health-care delivery systems, the criminal justice system, and even our precious desert environment all suffering serious adverse consequences.
A February 2011 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) underscores just how serious the problem is: GAO estimates that the Border Patrol has operational control of less than half of the southwestern border – just 44 percent. Sophisticated and especially brutal drug cartel operations are reaching into Arizona’s border communities. Many areas of public lands have been put off-limits due to the increased violence. Obviously, Arizona’s border needs to be better secured.
Since I was first elected to the Senate, I have tried to educate Senators and cabinet officials about the challenges facing our state and nation as a result of illegal immigration, and have fought hard for significant new resources to combat the problem. These efforts have resulted in measurable progress. For example, as far back as 1996, I won approval of an amendment that began the surge in the number of Border Patrol agents assigned to fight illegal immigration at the border. When the surge began, the number of Border agents totaled about 4,000. Today, there are over 20,000 Border agents. Comprehensive, new enforcement programs, like Operation Streamline, have led to substantial reductions in the number of illegal crossings, particularly in the Yuma Sector.
The administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush never provided the kind of leadership or support necessary to effectively secure the border and vigorously enforce the nation’s immigration laws, but at least they did not fight hard against congressional and state initiatives to promote those objectives. Although they did not request adequate funding to support the buildup of the Border Patrol or federal-state law enforcement initiatives like the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP), for example, they ultimately signed into law legislation passed by Congress to fund those programs. President Bush also signed legislation to authorize and fund the construction of border fencing and other barriers, and more than 305 miles of fencing in Arizona alone was built before he left office.
By contrast, President Obama’s administration has proven to be less than a reliable partner in the enforcement of our immigration laws, going so far as to sue the state of Arizona to block its implementation of SB 1070, the state’s new law which would allow law enforcement officers to determine a person’s immigration status in situations where an officer otherwise has legitimate grounds to lawfully stop, detain, or arrest the person.
President Obama’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year would significantly underfund the Border Patrol and Customs Service, allowing fewer new agents to be hired to enforce the law and ensure proper operation of our nation’s ports of entry. It would reduce SCAAP assistance to state, local and tribal law enforcement authorities that help execute the nation’s immigration laws. It would also cut funding for important initiatives, like Operation Stonegarden, which helps law enforcement authorities in Arizona fight home invasions and other criminal activity; halt construction of additional border fencing; and end the National Guard presence at the southern border.
As a member of the United States Senate, I did not have a role in the passage of SB 1070 in the state legislature in April 2010 (or the amendments to the law that were adopted shortly thereafter), but given the national attention it has garnered, I have reviewed the legislation carefully. What I’ve found is that much of the criticism that has been leveled against it ignores the plain language of the law and the amendments that were subsequently approved by the legislature.
The fact is, the law does not allow officers to arbitrarily ask people for immigration or identification papers. The law only applies in situations where an officer has legitimate grounds to lawfully stop, detain, or arrest a person for reasons other than immigration status. In other words, a person would have to be suspected of having committed some other crime, like a traffic violation. Then, after a lawful detention, stop, or arrest is made, the officer may only inquire about immigration status if there is “reasonable suspicion” that the person is illegally in the United States. (Presenting a driver’s license or other state-issued identification would be sufficient to establish the presumption of legal presence, and, of course, a driver’s license is routinely requested of all individuals stopped for possible traffic violations.) “Reasonable suspicion” is a legal term of art well understood by law enforcement officials.
Moreover, whereas the Arizona law initially stipulated that a law enforcement officer “may not solely consider race, color, or national origin” in determining whether reasonable suspicion exists about a person’s immigration status, amendments were subsequently adopted to prevent any consideration of those factors (except as may be permitted by the U.S. and Arizona Constitutions). Governor Brewer signed an executive order that also requires all officers to receive training about what constitutes reasonable suspicion.
The law is pending review by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The United States Supreme Court is also expected to consider the matter.
Obviously, it would be better for the federal government to secure the border and enforce federal immigration laws so that states, like Arizona, do not have to attempt to deal with the problem on their own. With that in mind, Senator McCain and I have proposed a 10-point plan to better secure the border and enforce existing laws. It would provide for the actual deployment of 3,000 more Border Patrol agents and 3,000 National Guardsmen to the Arizona border, as well as:
- Construction of additional fencing along the border, including upgrading of current fencing and new double- and triple-layer fencing at the appropriate locations;
- Full funding ($950 million per year) to reimburse states for the costs of incarcerating criminal aliens, and a total of $100 million annually for Operation Stonegarden, which reimburses state law enforcement for other costs associated with illegal immigration;
- Funding for Operation Streamline, which requires that illegal immigrants apprehended at the border spend some time in jail. The program has helped to reduce illegal immigrant apprehensions in the Yuma Sector by some 90 percent; additional funding would ensure that it can also be aggressively implemented in the Tucson Sector, where more than 240,000 illegal immigrants are apprehended annually;
- Substantially increased funding for mobile surveillance systems, Predator B Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and the money necessary for the Border Patrol to operate the equipment 24 hours a day, seven days a week;
- Increased funding for radio communications equipment and interoperability between the Border Patrol and state, local, and tribal law enforcement;
- Increased pay for Border Patrol agents assigned to high traffic areas to make sure we have well-trained, well-motivated personnel at the border;
- Additional funding to upgrade existing Border Patrol stations and build additional ones; and
- Funding to assist state, county, tribal, and municipal courts with the cost of prosecution and pre-trial detention of federally initiated criminal cases that federal attorneys might decline to prosecute.
In 2010, Congress passed legislation that began to fund parts of our 10-point plan, providing $600 million for such things as additional unmanned aerial systems, forward operating bases, and more Border Patrol agents, but it left other critical elements of the plan unfunded. I will, therefore, continue to fight for the necessary resources to fully implement the plan and better secure the border.
It is not necessary to pass comprehensive immigration reform in order to secure the border, as some have suggested; but it is necessary to secure the border before the American people will even consider supporting comprehensive reform. I suspect that the American people will be far more receptive to such reforms, including resolving the status of those who are already living here, once the border is secure.
