I will be showing several Georgia lawmwkers around Cochise County, Arizona next week, as I have been to this very beautiful area three times in the last two years and am aquainted with many area residents, including active and former Border Patrol Agents.

Some photos of the invasion of our nation from Cochise County here.

AJC report on our trip:
Illegal immigration has legislators off to border
By SHELIA M. POOLE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
12/02/06

Four Georgia legislators are heading to the border to get a firsthand look at the fight against illegal immigration.

State Reps. Tom Graves (R-Ranger), Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville), Martin Scott (R-Rossville) and state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) will leave Monday for a 2 1/2-day trip to the Cochise County, Ariz., area along the U.S.-Mexican border, according to a news release from Graves’ office.

“We see this as an educational tour,” Graves said in an interview. This will be his first trip to the border. “Illegal immigration is the number one issue facing Georgia. We wanted to spend some time at the border and see what resources the federal government was using to try to stop it.”

Georgia has one of the nation’s fastest-growing illegal immigrant populations. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, an estimated 470,000 illegal immigrants live in the state.

Graves said no taxpayer money is being used for the trip. Joining the lawmakers will be D.A. King, a Cobb County resident and president of the Dustin Inman Society, an anti-illegal immigration group. King has been to Cochise County several times.

Read the rest of the AJC article here.

Press release from Represntative Tom Graves below:

Representative Tom Graves
NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 30, 2006

CONTACT:

Michelle Hitt
404.656.5020
mhitt@actmajority.com

Georgia Lawmakers to Inspect U.S. – Mexican Border

ATLANTA –

Three members of the Georgia House of Representatives and a Georgia State Senator will embark on a fact-finding mission along the United States – Mexican border next week to see first hand the problem of illegal immigration.

State Reps. Tom Graves (R-Ranger), Martin Scott (R-Rossville), Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville) and State Senator Chip Rogers (R- Woodstock), will join a representative from the Dustin Inman Society Dec. 4-6 to inspect the border area near Chochise County, Arizona near Bisbee, Arizona.

“I want to see first hand what is really happening on our borders – both by day and night,” Graves said. “Illegal immigration has been and will continue to be an issue in the Georgia Legislature, and its vital that we have a full understanding of the issue, from illegal invasions to final deportation.”

Rep. Martin Scott said he wanted to go on the tour “to show support for the men and women who risk their lives every day trying to secure our borders. We want to see if the federal government is doing a better job patrolling our borders in recent months, particularly since so many illegal immigrants have wound up in Georgia.”

“Having a better understanding about the illegal immigration problem will help us determine what additional actions we may need to take in Georgia,” stated Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville).

A report in October released by the House Committee on Homeland Security found that the U. S. Border Patrol apprehended 10 to 30 percent of illegal crossings or about 1.2 million people in 2005.

The U. S. Census Bureau recently reported that Georgia had the highest rate of increase in it illegal resident population – a jump of 114 percent from 2000 to 2005. Arizona was second with an increase of 45 percent during the same time period.

“This is a fact finding mission to familiarize ourselves with what happens on our Southwest border,” said D. A. King, president of the Dustin Inman Society, a Georgia organization that monitors illegal immigration. “We will be meeting with local residents, watching how border patrol works and checking conditions along the
U. S. – Mexican border. I’m sure we will likely see illegal crossings each day.”