On Tuesday evening in the vast stretches of American desert outside Nogales, Arizona, Border Patrol Agent Brian A. Terry was shot and killed while serving his country. Deeply saddened by this event, Congressman Dan Burton is deeply appreciative for Agent Terry’s selfless and dedicated service defending his country.  

Rep. Burton asks, “How long will we allow criminals to move across our border with impunity and commit crimes in the U.S.?” And asserts that he has repeatedly called on the President to provide the resources needed to truly secure the border. Now he wonders whether or not his warnings have fallen on deaf ears.

Since October, Rep. Burton has written two letters to the President stating it would be an unforgivable breach of the Government’s Constitutional responsibilities if stronger, more assertive measures are not taken to prevent the upward spiral of violence from further spilling over into the United States, threatening the safety of U.S. citizens on American soil.

The most recent reports from the media suggest that there were five suspects, four of whom have since been apprehended. Within the content of these disturbing media reports there is one fact that I find particularly concerning…one of the criminals apprehended in relation to the shooting is no stranger to the United States at all. Manuel Arianes, a.k.a Manuel Arellanes Osorio, who is now in custody after being injured in the shooting, was not only convicted for assaulting a police officer in the Maricopa County Superior Court in 2006, he has also been deported from the United States twice.

To keep foreign criminals out of our country, Rep. Burton, along with colleagues Rep. Ted Poe, Rep. Ralph Hall, Rep. Pete Olson and Rep. Ed Royce implored the President that direct communication and cooperation from the Mexican Government needs to be ratcheted up immediately, our border fence needs to be completed and we must protect citizens as well as border patrol agents like Brian A. Terry by sending additional National Guard troops to the border. It is time to make a commitment to finally take a stand against what has rapidly become the third war front on our southern border.