Congress Approves Border Security Funding

Kyl: "Although it was my clear preference to keep the existing mandate of the Secure Fence Act, the omnibus bill does not change the requirement that 700 miles of fencing be constructed." WASHINGTON, D.C. The U.S. Congress approved late Wednesday the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill, which provides $2.6 billion in resources to secure the border, including $1.225 billion for fencing, infrastructure and technology. Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) welcomed the bills passage and said that he will closely monitor progress in construction along the border. As a result of continued pressure on the Democrats to fund the fence along the Southwest border, there is now $1.2 billion available for fence construction in 2008, said Kyl. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff has repeatedly affirmed his commitment to construct 370 miles of fencing, mostly double-layer, along the border by the end of 2008 and I will continue to hold him to that. Although it was my clear preference to keep the existing mandate of the Secure Fence Act, the omnibus bill does not change the requirement that 700 miles of fencing be constructed. Deciding what kind of fencing to use and where it should go should is a decision better made by the experts, not politicians in Washington, DC. DHS and the Border Patrol, in conjunction with local authorities, are responsible for securing our borders, and legislators in Washington shouldnt tie their hands. DHS has constructed approximately 160 miles of actual fencing since the Secure Fence Act first mandated its construction in 2006. The bill requires that at least 225 new miles of fence construction and 185 miles of vehicular barriers are completed by the end of 2008. The bill also provides $6.8 billion for Border Patrol salaries and expenses to increase the total number of agents to 3,000 by the end of 2008; $178.8 million base for ICE Criminal Alien Program (identifies criminal aliens in federal, state, local jails); $200 million extra funding for comprehensive identification and removal of criminal aliens; $1.6 billion to increase ICE detention capacity and $33.4 million for transportation and removal, to support a daily detained population of 32,000; $15 million for ICE worksite enforcement and $5 million to support ICE staff in the IMAGE program that helps employers get a clean workforce through voluntary audits of their current employees; and $410 million for State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP). The bill will now be sent to the president to be signed into law.