Goodlatte to President: Border Patrol Needs Access to New National Monument on U.S.-Mexico Border

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) released the statement below following the announcement that President Obama will designate 500,000 acres in southern New Mexico near the U.S.-Mexico border as a national monument, half of which will be set aside as “wilderness.” Unfortunately, documents show that the Departments of Interior and Agriculture are using environmental regulations to prevent the Border Patrol from accessing portions of the 21 million acres along the U.S.-Mexico border and over 1,000 miles of the U.S.-Canada border. 

Chairman Goodlatte: “If President Obama is going to designate half a million acres as a national monument, then he needs to make sure that the Border Patrol has access to it in order to keep Americans safe from illegal activity along our borders. Unfortunately, Obama Administration officials have so far prevented Border Patrol agents from securing the border by denying them access to federal lands under the guise of environmental preservation. Without law enforcement having access to federal lands, drug traffickers, human smugglers, and potentially terrorists are able to exploit yet another loophole created by the Obama Administration’s lax immigration enforcement. As President Obama moves forward with his decision, I urge him and his Administration to allow Border Patrol agents to do their job and gain control of our nation’s porous borders.”

Chairman Goodlatte is an original cosponsor of the SAFE Act (H.R. 2278) and National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act (HR. 2398), both of which prohibit the Departments of Interior and Agriculture from preventing Border Patrol agents access to federal lands within 100 miles of the border.  This will better enable Border Patrol agents to secure our borders and prevent illegal activity, such as illegal immigration, smuggling, and drug trafficking.  It also prohibits the interference of Border Patrol activities, such as construction and maintenance of roads and barriers, use of patrol vehicles, and deployment of tactical infrastructure.  The SAFE Act was approved by the House Judiciary Committee last year.