FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Isakson Praises Passage of Measure to Fund Improved Border Security
'Only way to secure our borders is with the commitment of appropriations’

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today praised the passage of an amendment he co-sponsored to the emergency supplemental spending bill that would beef up funding for border security. Isakson has said repeatedly that Congress must commit to securing the U.S. borders as the first step of any immigration reform.

“The only way to secure our borders is not with promises of authorizations but with the commitment of appropriations,” Isakson said on the Senate floor yesterday. “This amendment is, without question, the most significant component to the issue of illegal immigration and gaining control of our borders.”  

The amendment, which was offered by Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), would add approximately $1.9 billion to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for additional border security measures, including the replacement of border patrol vehicles, the addition of border sensor and surveillance technology, as well as improvements for the Coast Guard to patrol our nation’s ports. The amendment also includes funds for air operations, including unmanned aerial vehicles. Isakson is a co-sponsor of the amendment, which passed by a vote of 59 of 39.

Three weeks ago during the Senate debate on immigration reform legislation, Senate Democrats blocked a vote on Isakson’s amendment prohibiting the implementation of any new guest worker program until significant border security enhancements have been made. The Senate just returned from a two-week recess and is expected to resume the immigration debate in May.

“If we don’t secure the borders first, then there’s no way whatsoever we can have true meaningful immigration reform legislation,” Isakson said.

Isakson believes it is critical to secure the borders before implementing a new guest worker program because otherwise the United States will face a repeat of 1986, when amnesty was granted to 3 million illegal immigrants without enhancing border security first. The result, Isakson said, was that millions more immigrants have flooded into the United States illegally and now are straining our schools, our hospitals and our local jails.

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