Graves: Build That WALL

Statement

Our immigration system is broken.

It's broken because of a porous border and lax enforcement of current law. Citizens of our country shouldn't be subjected to harassment, injury, and even murder because we haven't effectively secured our border or enforced our laws.

I believe our primary goal in fixing the immigration system should be to control and defend our borders. Period.

Securing our border means building the wall. It's not just campaign rhetoric. There are many places along our southern border that absolutely require it. There is just no way to safely and regularly patrol some of those areas and a physical barrier is a proven solution.

Combine a physical barrier such as a wall with technology and manpower and you have a recipe for success in ensuring that our country is adequately secured. Several years ago, a section of border in Arizona added a barrier and more border agents. Those actions resulted in an 83% decrease in illegal entries.

The facts don't lie; effective border security works.

That's why I was happy to support a recent increase in funding for building a border wall and other border security measures. However, we have to do more. We must dedicate more funding to border security and we must make good on our promise to build the wall.

Once we do that, then we can look at immigration policies in place that undermine our nation's security and immigration system.

Solving the illegal immigration problem won't happen overnight; however, securing the border would go a long way towards improving our current situation. Our immigration problems didn't occur overnight; they have grown steadily due to decades of inaction and bad policy. It's time we act for the safety, security, and sovereignty of our nation.

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