Graves: The wall is our first line of defense- We must build it now

(From Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves)

The definition of a crime is “an illegal act or activity.” Entering and staying in our country without going through the proper procedures is a crime. That’s why we call it “illegal” immigration – because it isn’t legal!

The events of this week are a reminder that the cost of illegal immigration continues to rise on multiple levels – even costing innocent lives.

We’ve seen this too many times now. Someone comes here illegally and commits a crime like murder or rape or kidnapping. What gets obscured by the heinous act is the fact that that individual is already committing a crime just by being here. The crime perpetrated by that criminal would potentially never be committed in our country were we to strengthen and enforce our immigration laws.

I’ve always believed that a wall must be built on the border. It’s our first line of defense. We must build it now.

Both Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must be given the tools and support necessary to do their job. With a wall in place, our Border Patrol could more easily do their jobs and stop illegals before they get further into the country.

ICE, an agency that continues to take flak from those who support law-breakers, needs to be able to find, apprehend, and deport those who are here illegally. Earlier this month, a van-load of illegals was apprehended by police near St. Louis. ICE investigated and discovered that nine of those individuals had already been previously deported, some just earlier this year! Obviously, we need to do more before they make it across the border.

Not only that, but we should also take away any potential benefit of illegally crossing the border.
Our law enforcement does an incredible job. We must empower them to continue to do their job. Cities that politicize this issue and operate as “sanctuary cities” must pay a price. We must also make sure that those who employ people are only employing those who are legally allowed to work. We do have a system in place; however, there is no doubt that it needs to be even more stringent.

Given the events of this week, I think it’s important to reiterate that we must do everything in our power to eradicate illegal immigration. A strong legal immigration system is the best deterrent to illegal immigration. It’s really hard to stomach someone who isn’t supposed to be here murdering someone who should be here. Each time it happens, it’s just another reminder that this problem needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.