Hayworth Leads Fight Against Border Tunnels

Border Tunnel Prevention Act passes House 422-0 (Washington, DC) Congressman J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) took the fight to secure Americas borders to the floor of the House of Representatives and left with a stunning victory by passing his Border Tunnel Prevention Act, designed to penalize individuals who knowingly construct or finance an unauthorized tunnel across the U.S. border. After hours of debate, the legislation passed with rare unanimous consent by a vote of 422 to 0. The Hayworth-led initiative was the highlight of the GOPs Border Security Now agenda. This agenda also included measures that call for the deportation of dangerous alien criminals and the closing of loopholes that hurt law enforcements ability to affectively enforce immigration laws. Most people dont know this, but there is no federal law on the books that makes it illegal to build a tunnel under the border. That needs to change, said Hayworth in speaking in favor of the Border Tunnel Prevention Act of 2006 (H.R.4830 also known as Dreier-Hayworth). These tunnels could be used for smuggling aliens, drugs, weapons, terrorists, or even a weapon of mass destruction. The need to better protect our communities and secure our homeland is not a Republican problem, it is NOT a Democrat problem, it is an American crisis that must be addressed immediately. Its time we got tough with these smugglers and let them know that when they are caught, they will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. There will be no ˜catch and release. They will be doing hard time in a U.S. prison. H.R. 4830 would criminalize building, financing or allowing the construction of any unauthorized tunnel into the United States with a penalty of up to 20 years in federal prision. As recently as last week, a cross-border drug smuggling tunnel was located beneath a residence in Calexico, California; it extends approximately 400 feet to a residence in Mexicali, Mexico. The House also passed the Immigration Law Enforcement Act of 2006, which reaffirms the inherent authority of state and local law enforcement to voluntarily investigate, arrest, detain, and transfer illegals into federal custody. This will help end the policy of catch and release, in which illegal immigrants have been released into the general population while they await deportation proceedings. The passage of the Community Protection Act of 2006 allows the Department of Homeland Security to use the same expedited procedures available for the removal of aggravated felons to remove other criminal aliens who are not permanent residents and are otherwise ineligible for relief.