Following Havre Border Patrol visit, Tester calls for stronger border security

During Homeland Security hearing Senator urges passage of immigration reform

(U.S. SENATE) – Following his visit with Border Patrol agents in Havre on Saturday, Senator Jon Tester called for stronger border security measures during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing.

Tester told General Barry McCaffrey, former Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, that northern border security is directly linked to efforts on the southwestern border and that without sensible immigration reforms, neither can be secure.

“I have met with the folks who are securing our nation’s border and they have been direct about what they need to do the job,” Tester said after the hearing. “Until we pass comprehensive immigration reform, it is nearly impossible to strengthen border security and help our Border Patrol agents across the Hi-Line.”

Tester, a senior member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, discussed issues impacting border security with Border Patrol agents in Havre on Saturday.

Last year, Tester’s bipartisan legislation to provide more certainty and predictability for Border Patrol agents’ pay was signed into law.