"The border tour provided me an opportunity to witness the progress being made on the border fence construction," McKeon said. "While the economy has been in the headlines, we mustn't overlook the real need to keep our borders protected from illegal immigration. The after-effects of illegal immigration have been costly. As it stands now in our current economy, illegal immigration has placed undue stress on our health care and education systems and created a variety of issues the country has been trying to address.

"My constituents have made it clear that they want a border fence in place and it is something I worked on very closely, including joining my Republican colleagues last year in urging Speaker Pelosi to complete construction of the fence," McKeon said. "I'm keeping a close eye on the situation, because we need construction to be completed as soon as possible.

"The increased security along the border is making in impact and I am grateful for the work of our border patrol agents."