A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, Commending and thanking the men and women of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), urging Congress and the President to fund construction of the southern border wall, and urging Congress and the President to ensure compliance with and enforcement of federal immigration laws.

WHEREAS, the national security interests of the United States are dependent on the brave men and women who enforce our Nation's immigration laws; and

WHEREAS, any call to abolish ICE is an insult to the heroic law enforcement officers who make sacrifices every day to secure our borders, enforce our laws, and protect our safety and security; and

WHEREAS, the abolishment of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would mean open and uncontrolled borders through elimination of the main agency responsible for expelling people who enter or remain in our country unlawfully; and

WHEREAS, the abolishment of ICE would permit dangerous criminal aliens, including violent and ruthless members of the MS-13 gang, to enter and remain in American communities;

and

WHEREAS, during fiscal year 2017, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 127,000 aliens with a history of criminal convictions or current charges; and

WHEREAS, ICE ERO made 5,225 administrative arrests of suspected gang members in fiscal year 2017; and

WHEREAS, criminal aliens arrested by ICE ERO in fiscal year 2017 were responsible for more than:

WHEREAS, ICE Homeland Security Investigations made 4,818 gang-related arrests in fiscal year 2017; and

WHEREAS, ICE identified or rescued 904 sexually exploited children and identified or rescued 518 victims of human trafficking; and

WHEREAS, the abolishment of ICE would allow countless illegal aliens who pose a threat to public safety to roam freely on American soil with no fear of deportation; and

WHEREAS, the abolishment of ICE would mean more dangerous illegal drugs would flow into our communities, causing more Americans to suffer needlessly; and

WHEREAS, ICE plays a critical role in combating the drug crisis facing our Nation; and

WHEREAS, ICE seized more than 980,000 pounds of narcotics in fiscal year 2017, including thousands of pounds of the deadly drugs fueling the opioid crisis; and

WHEREAS, ICE seized 2,370 pounds of fentanyl and 6,967 pounds of heroin in fiscal year 2017; and

WHEREAS, ICE logged nearly 90,000 investigative hours to interrupt the flow of fentanyl in fiscal year 2017; and

WHEREAS, the abolishment of ICE would cause our communities even more devastation from the free flow of these drugs; and

WHEREAS, the abolishment of ICE would eliminate the agency that deports aliens who pose a terrorist threat to the United States; and

WHEREAS, ICE was created in 2003 to protect national security and public safety after the revelation of how the 9/11 terrorists exploited immigration laws to gain entry into the United States; and

WHEREAS, ICE is one of the first lines of defense against terrorists gaining access to inflict harm to citizens of the towns and cities in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the abolishment of ICE would weaken United States defenses against terrorism and enable the hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals who illegally overstay a visa each year to remain in the United States indefinitely and with impunity; and

WHEREAS, national security and law enforcement agencies have repeatedly identified the entire United States border with Mexico as a major national security concern; and

WHEREAS, walls have been historically effective protection for the sovereignty of nations and security of citizens from terrorists and criminals, from the ancient Great Wall of China to the walls erected by the modern nations of Hungary and Israel; and

WHEREAS, a 2018 National Border Patrol Council survey, of more than 600 agents in two of the Border Patrol's busiest sectors, resulted in 89 percent of line agents affirming a "wall system in strategic locations is necessary to securing the border"; and

WHEREAS, according to estimates, eleven to twenty-two million illegal aliens are present in the United States in violation of Federal immigration laws; and

WHEREAS, in August 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics' employment situation report listed between 6.2 and 7.4 Million Americans who are unemployed, and 4.4 million Americans who are either employed part-time for economic reasons or who are involuntarily part-time workers; and

WHEREAS, in 1995 the United States Government Accountability Office estimated the 3.4 million illegal aliens in the United States at that time, were a net cost of up to $19 billion. Current estimates are the 11-22 million illegal aliens in the United States are a net cost of $175-$275 billion a year; and

WHEREAS, illegal labor takes jobs away from American workers, lowers American wages, transfers the costs of subsidizing illegal labor to South Dakotans, and has a negative effect on America's poorest; and

WHEREAS, the United States of America takes in more legal immigrants than any nation in the world. Those legal immigrants have overwhelmingly proven to be assets to the communities they settle in, and South Dakotans welcome all races, religions, and creeds to our beloved state who immigrate legally to South Dakota to mix with and to add to our great American melting pot; and

WHEREAS, existing federal immigration laws ardently and equally enforced honor the rich tradition of immigration and the rule of law upon which the American Republic was founded; and

WHEREAS, it is the duty and responsibility of the federal government to protect national borders and secure the sovereignty of the United States of America as well as to enforce immigration and employment laws for the protection of American citizens; and

WHEREAS, the enforcement of existing federal immigration laws, especially those regarding national security, immigration, and employment are necessary for the preservation of the sovereignty of this nation and the well-being of the American people:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Senate of the Ninety-Fourth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that the South Dakota Legislature commends and thanks the brave men and women of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and encourages them to continue their diligent and steadfast service to the citizens of our nation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the South Dakota Legislature urges Congress and the President of the United States to immediately provide for the security of our nation by controlling and securing our national borders with appropriate legislation to fund the construction of the southern border wall and then immediately commence construction of the southern border wall; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the South Dakota Legislature urges Congress and the President of the United States to immediately provide for the security of our nation through the ardent and equal enforcement of our existing federal immigration laws.