September 22, 2006—The House of Representatives this week steadfastly continued their efforts to plug the holes in our border. Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) and others who are serious about stopping the flood of illegal immigrants from entering the country overwhelmingly supported three crucial border security bills.

 “The reality is that we live in a world when lunatics, like Iran’s Ahmadinejad, are willing to use violence to force their will on peaceful, diverse, and tolerant societies.  It is imperative that we secure our borders in order to give American citizens the protections the U.S. government owes them and the Constitution requires.  These three bills, if turned into law by the Senate’s cooperation, will immediately help to secure our borders in an effort to prevent unlawful immigrants, including perhaps terrorists with nuclear capabilities, from crossing our border.”

 H.R. 6094, the “Community Protection Act of 2006” ensures that dangerous illegal immigrants, who cannot be deported, cannot be released into society.  Under current law, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cannot detain illegal immigrants for more than six months, even if the individual has committed a violent crime or represents a threat to national security. H.R. 6054 allows such illegal immigrants to be detained for periods of six months at a time, and then allows for the period of detention to be renewed. It passed with a 328-95 margin.  

 H.R. 6095, the “Immigration Law Enforcement Act of 2006” reaffirms the inherent authority of state and local law enforcement to voluntarily investigate, identify, apprehend, arrest, detain, and transfer to federal custody illegal immigrants. It also authorizes an increase in the number of attorneys to prosecute alien smuggling cases.  277 voted in support of the bill while 140 voted against it.  

 H.R. 4830, the “Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2006” enacts criminal penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment for individuals who knowingly construct or finance the construction of an unauthorized tunnel across a U.S. international border.  In addition, individuals who recklessly permit the construction of such a tunnel on their own property are subject to imprisonment of up to 10 years.  Individuals caught using such a tunnel to smuggle aliens, contraband, drugs, weapons, or terrorists are subject to twice the penalty that would have otherwise been imposed. 422 voted to pass the bill.

 Trent Franks is the Congressman from the 2nd Congressional District of Arizona.  He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the House Judiciary Committee and Vice Chairman of the Constitution Subcommittee