Silvestre Reyes

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr).

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa).

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, who has the right to close?

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I have a parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I yield one minute to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton).

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, we have heard a lot this afternoon about being proactive, being engaged, being pro-law enforcement. I would like to begin by clearing up a misconception on this issue. Voting to send armed military personnel to the border and patrolling our Nation's borders is not a pro-enforcement vote. It does not mean that you are tough on crime; it does not mean that you are tough on drug traffickers or tough on illegal aliens. If anyone wants to be tough on crime, wants to be tough on drug traffickers, then you need to come spend some time on the border. Come spend some time with me working with the Border Patrol. Come spend some time with me working with Customs, with DEA. If you want to be tough on crime and you want to understand how tough it is to patrol the Nation's borders, come with me and see it for more than a couple of hours. Do not stand here in this House and talk about how tough we can be and how tough we should be and the kinds of things that we are or are not doing. The truth is, all across the border, both on the southern and the northern border, we have got Border Patrol officers, we have got Customs officers, we have got Inspectors, we have got DEA, they are all engaged in enforcing this Nation's laws against both illegal immigration and narcotics trafficking. The gentleman from Ohio, whom I respect, is concerned about drugs. I have repeatedly explained to him, 90 percent of the drugs coming into this country come through ports of entry, ports of entry that today are utilizing National Guard to help Customs inspect the trucks. Now, let me give you a statistic. Out of every 100 trucks coming in from Mexico, only three get fully inspected by Customs. So I would ask the question, if you were a drug trafficker and you had those kinds of odds, would you send drugs through the river, or would you send them through the ports of entry in that way? Mr. Chairman, I ask that Members not support sending military to the border, and I ask that you support my amendment.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I only have one speaker remaining.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Edwards), my good friend.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez). (Mr. RODRIGUEZ asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Filner). (Mr. FILNER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I offer an amendment as a substitute for the amendment.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the remainder of my time. Again, I rise in opposition to troops on the border, and in reference to the comments from my colleague from Ohio, I doubt that we in this body want troops at O'Hare, at JFK, LaGuardia, LAX, those are all ports of entry, and when we are talking about terrorism, I have been there. I have done it. Terrorists do not come in a specific profile, they come dressed like the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Traficant), they come dressed like me. Most importantly, they come through the ports of entry. They have nothing to do with the troops being out patrolling between those ports of entry. Drug smugglers, border bandits. The last time I was in a gun fight was in March of 1995 with border bandits and drug smugglers. I know the issues, I know what is important, and I can tell my colleagues, military on the border is a bad idea. If my colleagues doubt that, let me give an example. I was in Bosnia in January. Of about 28 soldiers that we had a town hall meeting with, 3 of them had told me that they had been on a drug mission in Texas and part of the problem that I see here is that when we are involving our troops doing police work, it is completely different from combat. I think it is a disservice to have them on the southern border of Texas today and 6 months from now have them in Bosnia, in real danger, and having to decide, is this combat or is this law enforcement?

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, how much time is remaining?

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra).

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, can I ask the time remaining?

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Conyers). (Mr. CONYERS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to troops on the border. As everyone knows, my background is one of having spent 26\1/2\ years patrolling this Nation's border as a border patrol agent and as a chief. I think it is a bad idea. I believe that we have to understand that the only way we are going to ensure the integrity of our borders is through trained, professional, Federal agents. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. REYES. Mr. Chairman, I just want to clarify that today, in the Immigration Naturalization Act that the government has already passed that is in effect, it provides that kind of authority. There is a section that provides the authority to the President to declare an emergency and do exactly what the gentleman is talking about.

Mr. REYES

Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, the following resolution was submitted in Spanish for the Record following Mr. Reyes' remarks on H.R. 629 on Thursday, May 14. This is the English translation to be inserted in the Record. FIRST.--The Joint Committees on Ecology and the Environment, Border Issues and Foreign Relations of the Chamber of Deputies reiterate their complete rejection of the planning, construction and operation of the Radioactive Waste Dump that the Governor of Texas is trying to establish in the town of Sierra Blanca, Texas, and express their disagreement, concern and disapproval of the decisions, adopted and followed until now by the Government of the United States of America, which favor installation of dumps on the southern border with Mexico, without taking into account the potential negative impact that such decisions can have on human health and the environment in communities located on both sides of the border. SECOND.--The Joint Committees of the Chamber of Deputies have conducted an evaluation of available information on this dump project, the result of which shows that its operation would entail potential adverse impacts. THIRD.--The Joint Committees of the Chamber of Deputies kindly request that the Office of the Secretary of Foreign Relations transmit to the Government of the United States of America the Chamber of Deputies complete rejection of the construction and operation of a radioactive waste dump in Sierra Blanca, Texas. FOURTH.--The Chamber of Deputies presents to the Office of the Secretary of Foreign Relations the possibility of considering the formulation of the following proposals to the Government of the United States of America. (a) Insist on the relocation of the Sierra Blanca project to a site located outside the 100 kilometers of the border zone. (b) State the disapproval of the Chamber of Deputies with respect to decisions of the United States of America which favor the installation of hazardous and radioactive waste dumps within the border strip. (c) Begin negotiation of an amendment to the La Paz Agreement in which the installation and operation of hazardous and radioactive waste dumps are explicitly prohibited in the 100-kilometer strip of the common border. (d) Demonstrate to the members of the U.S. House of Representatives the desire of the Chamber of Deputies that they vote against the Compact Law which authorizes the dumping of wastes among the states of Texas, Maine and Vermont, by virtue of [the fact that] their approval signifies notable support for the construction and operation of a radioactive waste dump in Sierra Blanca, Texas, and represents a violation of the spirit of the La Paz Agreement. (e) Include the topic of radioactive and hazardous waste dumps on the agenda of the next meeting of the Mexico-United States Binational Commission to negotiate the suspension of dump projects in the 100-kilometer strip of the border. FIFTH.--The Joint Committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Committee of International Affairs are instructed: (a) To include this matter on the agenda of the next Mexico-United States Interparliamentary Meeting. (b) That the Ecology and Environment, Border Issues and Foreign Relations Committees of the Chamber of Deputies propose that the Governors of the border states of the Mexican Republic and their respective Congresses be informed about projects attempting to be established in the border zone, exhorting them to define a joint strategy so that dumps not be implemented in the 100-kilometer border strip, and requesting their support of the present Report. (c) To form a plural commission, made up of deputies [who are] members of the Joint Committees to meet with federal, local and legislative authorities of the United States of America to deal with the Sierra Blanca case and demonstrate their rejection of same. SIXTH.--The Joint Committees express that the present case constitutes a valuable opportunity for both countries to show their will, responsibility and ability to cooperate in dealing with similar matters of common interest. SEVENTH.--To the effect that public opinion has greater awareness of the subject, it is suggested that a document be drawn up, to be disseminated by the national and international communication media, in which the problems and current situation of the project in question are expressed. EIGHTH.--The Joint Committees of the Chamber of Deputies request that this report be sent to the Honorable Chamber of Senators so that, within the framework of the faculties conferred on it by the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, it proposes the actions necessary for the report's implementation. Given in the Committee Room of the San Lazaro Legislative Palace, April 27, 1998.