By Scott Wright

WASHINGTON, D.C. — East Alabama may seem a long way from the Mexican border to some. But the Third District's congressional representative knows the people he speaks for are tired of lax border enforcement, and he's had enough himself of what he considers the federal government's lackluster efforts to keep illegal immigrants from simply walking into the United States.

Earlier this year, Rep. Mike Rogers told The Post he was hearing plenty from of the people his district about the problems along the border with Mexico.

“Immigration is the dominant issue in Dist. 3” Rogers said in May. “The people in my district are hot about the border being so open, and the fact that we do not know how many illegal immigrants are here and what they're up to.”

But so far Congress has done little to pass legislation aimed at improving the situation. Now, with less than a week remaining before senators and representatives return home to campaign for reelection, both the House and the Senate are working to speed through tough border legislation they can show off to their constituents.

Late on Sept. 26, Rogers' saw his bill pass unanimously in the House of Representatives.

“We need more boots on the ground now, not three or four years from now,” Rogers, R-Saks, said last week in a press release in which he announced a new bill aimed at providing more warm bodies to the Border Patrol.

After the bill passed, Rogers said he was glad his idea received so much support.

"This is a common sense solution for helping ... almost immediately and I am pleased the House has shown its strong support for the legislation."

Rogers said the bill will allow the Border Patrol to tap into the knowledge and experience of recently retired agents and get more boots on the nation's borders quickly. The legislation allows rehired agents to be used in senior advisory roles or as instructors to free up more current agents for actual patrol duty.

Rogers said realized there was a manpower problem on the border after learning the nation has hired only 1,500 new Border Patrol agents, even though Congress authorized an increase of 2,000 new agents a year for five years in 2004.

During an exclusive interview with The Post on Sept. 22, Rogers said the president's idea of relocating up to 6,000 National Guard troops to the Mexican border has been a failure.

“That program has been ineffective,” Rogers said. “We need to not make it seem like we're dealing with the border problem by sending National Guard troops who are not actually even on the border. Right now, we're spending $2 million per Border Patrol agent we are able to free up by using the National Guard. That's ridiculous.”

Rogers said his latest bill was a component of a larger push by Republicans to show the nation the party means what it says about getting tough on border enforcement.

“This is one piece of a larger bill, but we're pulling this out and firing a 'rifle shot' just to try and get something done,” Rogers said. “The leadership is putting together a bill that is more cumbersome, but we feel with something this focused we can get stuff moving.”

In addition to rehiring recently retired agents, the bill written by Rogers will also improve Border Patrol recruitment and retention efforts by employing new personnel incentives, such as bonuses and location transfers.

The congressman also thinks another idea being bandied around the halls of the Capitol -- namely, the plan to construct a 700-mile border fence -- is full of holes.

“I want the entire 2,000-mile fence,” Rogers told The Post. “We'll never secure the border to the extent possible until we get the fencing.”

Rogers said no one realistically expects the border to ever be 100 percent sealed. But he said if officials will get serious about all the aspects of protection that make up a secure border, the nation can get pretty close.

“Once we have the fencing, and the Border Patrol is fully staffed, and the technological advancements that we already have available are put in place, we can get to 85 or 90 percent closed,” he said.

On the question of funding, Rogers said there should be no debate.

“We'll make the money to pay for it,” he said. “We have to. This and the war are two things we have to have.”

Realistically, though, with less than a week to work and mid-term elections approaching, how far will this bitterly divided Congress be able to go to help the men and women of the Border Patrol do their jobs more efficiently?

“We'll get a good bit, and this (bill) is a significant move in the right direction,” Rogers said.