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[Congressional Record: November 14, 2002 (Extensions)] [Page E2017] From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:cr14no02-80] IN OPPOSITION TO H.R. 2155, SOBER BORDERS ACT ______ HON. BETTY McCOLLUM of minnesota in the house of representatives Wednesday, November 13, 2002 Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 2155, the Sober Borders Act. While I support the intent of this legislation, I am concerned H.R. 2155 unnecessarily fails to balance our need for safe driving on the borders with the interests of a safe and legal flow of people across the borders too and from the United States. At a time when our border patrol officers and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) inspectors face heavy workloads, H.R. 2155 would impose new duties unrelated to terrorism that could potentially overwhelm the resources and personnel available at our borders. In the wake of the September 11th tragedies, it is important that we allow INS agents and officials do to their jobs correctly and efficiently, without burdening them with new responsibilities normally assigned to state law enforcement agencies. We must be careful not to stretch the limited resources beyond INS's immigration and anti-terrorism functions. I am also concerned that H.R. 2155 could be improperly used to target persons on the basis of race, ethnicity or national origin unless safeguards are added to prevent racial profiling. During mark-up of H.R. 2155, a sensible amendment was offered to monitor whether law enforcement uses their authority in a discriminatory manner to detain, test and arrest persons suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Unfortunately, this amendment was defeated and the bill brought before the full House contained no accountability measures to prevent racial profiling and provided no opportunity to address this issue further. I believe this amendment was a modest request that would have made the underlying bill stronger. New authority (such as the new authority granted in H.R. 2155) that creates a risk of racial profiling should be accompanied by accountability mechanisms that measure whether profiling has occurred. It is important that in our pursuit for greater safety we do not violate the rights of certain individuals based merely on race, ethnicity or national origin. I support measures that seek to reduce drinking and driving in America's communities and neighborhoods. But in these efforts we must be careful not to weaken existing law enforcement functions or violate the rights of the American people. Regrettably, H.R. 2155 does not meet these goals. ____________________ Share this page | Bookmark this page The leading immigration law publisher - over 50000 pages of free information!
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