PRESIDENT SIGNS KING’S FENCE BILL
King Greets President in Des Moines to Congratulate Bush for Securing America’s Future
DES MOINES – Immediately after the President signed into law a bill to erect 700-miles of fence and wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, Bush headed to Des Moines to be greeted by Iowa Congressman Steve King.
On August 22, 2005, King organized the Secure America’s Future immigration reform rallies in Des Moines and Council Bluffs. It was in Des Moines on that day that King first called for a fence on the southern border. Three months, three weeks, and three days later, the U.S. House of Representatives first passed legislation authorizing a physical barrier on the border. The Senate followed the House’s lead in final passage of the Secure Fence Act in September of this year.
Last month, both the U.S. House and the Senate passed H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act, which would authorize the construction of 700-miles of physical barriers along the southern border.
“We will now start the construction of the wall. This is a Congressional mandate to build 700 miles of fence and wall. It will be built and I intend to take an active role in the review of the design and construction,” said King. “I want to be sure that it gets done, done right, and on time. The American people have spoken loud and clear.” said King.
In July, House leadership asked King to demonstrate his wall design to the Homeland Security and Government Reform committee hearing on border barriers. King, a contractor by trade, designed a twelve-foot high concrete border wall to be difficult to tunnel under or scale, to reinforce the southern border.
King serves on the House Judiciary Committee, Immigration Subcommittee and the House Immigration Reform Caucus. He has long called for a common-sense immigration reform policy that returns jobs back to American workers by shutting off the jobs magnet and ending birthright citizenship, along with building barriers along the border to direct all traffic through the legal ports of entry.
In August 2005, King brought in immigration reform experts to hold forums on border security and immigration reform across western Iowa.
H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act, will:
▪ Authorize more than 700 miles of two-layered reinforced physical barriers along the Mexican border with prioritized placement at critical, highly populated areas.
▪ Mandate the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) achieve and maintain operational control over the entire border through the use of all practical means.
▪ Require DHS to provide all necessary authority to border personnel to disable fleeing vehicles, similar to the authority held by the United States Coast Guard for maritime vessels.
