FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Isakson Voices Disappointment at Senate’s Failure to Put Border Security First
Says U.S. Can No Longer ‘Give a Wink and a Nod to Those Who Would Cross Our Borders Illegally’                       

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today voiced his disappointment at the Senate’s refusal to adopt his amendment to commit to secure the U.S. borders as the required first step of any immigration reform. The Senate defeated Isakson’s amendment by a vote of 40 yeas to 55 nays.

Isakson’s amendment would have prohibited the implementation of any guest worker program that grants legal status to those who have entered the country illegally until the Secretary of Homeland Security has certified to the President and to the Congress that the border security provisions in the immigration legislation are fully funded and operational.

“I’m very disappointed that the Senate has refused to put border security first. The Senate is sending the message to the American people that we should continue to give a wink and a nod to those who would cross our borders illegally, and that is a terrible message to send,” Isakson said.      

Isakson cited the 1986 amnesty program created by President Ronald Reagan that granted amnesty to 3 million illegal immigrants but failed to appropriate the funds necessary to secure the border. The result, Isakson said, was that millions more immigrants flooded into the United States illegally and now are straining our schools, our hospitals and our local jails.

Isakson dismissed arguments that it is impossible to secure the border or that it would take forever. He said the job can be done if the Congress and the President commit the funding and other resources to do it.

“There may be some who say you can’t secure the border or it can’t be done or it’s going to take too long. Listen, this country put a man on the moon in nine years. This country responded to the terrorist attacks on 9-11 within three weeks. This country can do anything it sets its mind to do and we know how to do it,” Isakson said. “In incremental places along the border, we have done it. It’s now time to do it seamlessly across the 2,000 mile border. It’s time we put in place the agents, the UAVs in the air, ground sensors on the ground, the prosecuting officials along the border. Most importantly, we must make a commitment to ourselves and to the American people.”

On Feb. 22, Isakson led a Congressional delegation to the U.S.-Mexico border, which included stops in San Diego, Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and Manzanillo, Mexico. In Arizona, Isakson viewed the one and only unmanned aerial vehicle operated by Customs and Border Protection. This one vehicle is flown along the border and can detect individuals trying to come across the border illegally. The border protection agents then use the signals from this detection system to catch these illegal immigrants and to stop them from entering the U.S. On the border at San Diego, Isakson was present when scanners detected a pickup truck with a false bed concealing 13 illegals.

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