Securing the border with Mexico has been a major issue for leaders of the United States who are crafting a bill for immigration reform since they started. Due to the fact that Mexico shares a border of 2,000 miles with the US, there are continuing fears over the security of the area and how to prevent people from illegally crossing over.
PBS says that just in the course of the last year around 124,000 people were apprehended attempting to cross the border without permission, and Republicans have plainly stated that they will not be giving their support to any immigration reform bill that does not address this concern, standing firm on the notion that citizenship should not be given unless a new law is put in place concerning the border with Mexico.
Border security has become even more of a hot topic since the Boston bombings, resulting in a number of legislators coming forward to give their own views on the issue. “I respectfully request that the Senate consider the following two conditions as part of the comprehensive immigration reform debate,” Senator Rand Paul wrote to the Senate.
“One, the Senate needs a thorough examination of the facts in Massachusetts to see if legislation is necessary to prevent a similar situation in the future. Two, national security protections must be rolled into comprehensive immigration reform to make sure the federal government does everything it can to prevent immigrants with malicious intent from using our immigration system,” he wrote.