Index-Journal
Published: Monday, September 24, 2007 
By: Chris Trainor
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Congressman Barrett: “The time for action is now” on border control

There has been much talk in Congress and other branches of federal government about immigration legislation and border control.

On Monday, Third District Congressman Gresham Barrett (R-SC) made his opinion on the matter known: The time for action is now.

Barrett announced a proposed congressional resolution during a noon press conference at Greenwood County Courthouse. Several local political figures joined Barrett, including Greenwood County Sheriff Dan Wideman, Greenwood County Council members Dee Compton and Edith Childs, Aiken County Sheriff Mike Hunt and Aiken County Councilman Gary Bunker.

GCSO deputies Cody Bishop and Dwayne Balchin also joined Barrett at the podium.

Barrett’s resolution calls for Congress to ensure current border security laws are in place and being implemented. One of the laws Barrett wants enforced calls for 18,000 border patrol agents along the Mexican border by 2008.

As of now, only 14,000 agents have been trained and positioned.

Also, Barrett wants to see the pace of work increased on the construction of 850 miles of fencing along the border. Currently, only 16 miles of the fence have been placed.

“As you well know, the immigration debate has been hot and heavy,” Barrett said Monday. “What we were trying to do, my office and myself, is bring some clarity and some emphasis as to what’s going on in this debate. Rather than implement another piece of legislation, we decided that what we’d do is come up with a resolution.”

Barrett said the resolution calls for Congress to take actions on promises it has been making regarding immigration since 1993. The illegal alien population in the United States is growing at a rate of 500,000 per year.

“What this is is a simple three-page resolution that says ?What we want you to do, United States Congress, is live up to your commitments,’” Barrett said. “You said you were going to put 18,000 men and women on the border as security agents. Fulfill your commitment by 2008. You said you were going to build a fence on the border. Expedite it. Let’s get it happening today.”

Barrett also advocated the use of 287G, a program that extends immigration laws down to the local level. Wideman voiced his support of Barrett’s resolution.

“It’s time for us to start enforcing laws along our borders,” Wideman said. “The 18,000 border security is going to help our country. That 850-mile fence will help our country. Gresham Barrett’s work with local and state agencies in the law enforcement community is appreciated.”

With the population of illegal immigrants steadily growing in Greenwood and other local areas, such as Saluda County, Barrett addressed how legislation can be acted upon here.

“The 287 G provision allows locals, once they go through the program and get certified, to help enforce immigration laws. The sheriff in Mecklenburg County has had great success with it. I want to get my sheriffs together and go up and see what’s going on in that area, see how effective it has been. We have even talked about some form of collaborative process. The only way we are going to get a handle on this is to get locals involved in the process.”

Barrett said a major part of border security efforts would focus not on “mom and pop and two kids coming over looking for a better way of life,” but on those looking to bring a criminal element into the United States. He said there are those that are coming or are trying to come across the border who would seek to bring “death and destruction” into the country.

Wideman and his deputies recently saw evidence of the criminal effort that is at hand when the GCSO participated in a drug sweep with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office that netted a large quantity of methamphetamine “ice,” which is largely produced in superlabs in Mexico and smuggled across the border.

“We have traced the trail of ice from Greenwood to Atlanta to Texas and into Mexico,” Wideman said. “That’s why I think this is so important. We need to get these illegal drugs off our streets.”