[Joint House and Senate Hearing, 118 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                  BIDEN'S BORDER CRISIS AND ITS EFFECT
                        ON AMERICAN COMMUNITIES

=======================================================================

                             JOINT HEARING

                               BEFORE THE

                   SUBCOMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY,
                    THE BORDER, AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS

                                 OF THE

               COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

                                AND THE

       SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRIME AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SURVEILLANCE

                                 OF THE

                       COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

                     U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                    ONE HUNDRED EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                               __________

                             AUGUST 8, 2023

                               __________

                           Serial No. 118-58

                               __________

  Printed for the use of the Committee on Oversight and Accountability






                 [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]





                  Available on: http://www.govinfo.gov
                           oversight.house.gov
                             docs.house.gov

                               ______
                                 

                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

54-657 PDF                WASHINGTON : 2024









               COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND ACCOUNTABILITY

                    JAMES COMER, Kentucky, Chairman

Jim Jordan, Ohio                     Jamie Raskin, Maryland, Ranking 
Mike Turner, Ohio                        Minority Member
Paul Gosar, Arizona                  Eleanor Holmes Norton, District of 
Virginia Foxx, North Carolina            Columbia
Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin            Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts
Gary Palmer, Alabama                 Gerald E. Connolly, Virginia
Clay Higgins, Louisiana              Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois
Pete Sessions, Texas                 Ro Khanna, California
Andy Biggs, Arizona                  Kweisi Mfume, Maryland
Nancy Mace, South Carolina           Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York
Jake LaTurner, Kansas                Katie Porter, California
Pat Fallon, Texas                    Cori Bush, Missouri
Byron Donalds, Florida               Shontel Brown, Ohio
Kelly Armstrong, North Dakota        Jimmy Gomez, California
Scott Perry, Pennsylvania            Melanie Stansbury, New Mexico
William Timmons, South Carolina      Robert Garcia, California
Tim Burchett, Tennessee              Maxwell Frost, Florida
Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia      Becca Balint, Vermont
Lisa McClain, Michigan               Summer Lee, Pennsylvania
Lauren Boebert, Colorado             Greg Casar, Texas
Russell Fry, South Carolina          Jasmine Crockett, Texas
Anna Paulina Luna, Florida           Dan Goldman, New York
Chuck Edwards, North Carolina        Jared Moskowitz, Florida
Nick Langworthy, New York            Vacancy
Eric Burlison, Missouri


                                 ------                                

                       Mark Marin, Staff Director
       Jessica Donlon, Deputy Staff Director and General Counsel
             Kaity Wolfe, Senior Professional Staff Member
         Grayson Westmoreland, Senior Professional Staff Member
      Mallory Cogar, Deputy Director of Operations and Chief Clerk
                      Contact Number: 202-225-5074

                  Julie Tagen, Minority Staff Director
                      Contact Number: 202-225-2051

                                 ------                                

   Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs

                  Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin, Chairman

Paul Gosar, Arizona                  Robert Garcia, California, Ranking 
Virginia Foxx, North Carolina            Minority Member
Clay Higgins, Louisiana              Stephen F. Lynch, Massachusetts
Pete Sessions, Texas                 Dan Goldman, New York
Andy Biggs, Arizona                  Jared Moskowitz, Florida
Nancy Mace, South Carolina           Katie Porter, California
Jake LaTurner, Kansas                Cori Bush, Missouri
Pat Fallon, Texas                    Maxwell Frost, Florida
Kelly Armstrong, North Dakota        Vacancy
Scott Perry, Pennsylvania            Vacancy








                       COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

                       Jim Jordan, Ohio, Chairman

Darrell Issa, California             Jerrold Nadler, New York, Ranking 
Ken Buck, Colorado                       Member
Matt Gaetz, Florida                  Zoe Lofgren, California
Mike Johnson, Louisiana              Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
Andy Biggs, Arizona                  Steve Cohen, Tennessee
Tom McClintock, California           Henry C. ``Hank'' Johnson, Georgia
Tom Tiffany, Wisconsin               Adam Schiff, California
Thomas Massie, Kentucky              David N. Cicilline, Rhode Island
Chip Roy, Texas                      Eric Swalwell, California
Dan Bishop, North Carolina           Ted Lieu, California
Victoria Spartz, Indiana             Pramila Jayapal, Washington
Scott Fitzgerald, Wisconsin          J. Luis Correa, California
Cliff Bentz, Oregon                  Mary Gay Scanlon, Pennsylvania
Ben Cline, Virginia                  Joe Neguse, Colorado
Lance Gooden, Texas                  Lucy McBath, Georgia
Jeff Van Drew, New Jersey            Madeleine Dean, Pennsylvania
Troy Nehls, Texas                    Veronica Escobar, Texas
Barry Moore, Alabama                 Deborah Ross, North Carolina
Kevin Kiley, California              Cori Bush, Missouri
Harriet Hageman, Wyoming             Glenn Ivey, Maryland
Nathaniel Moran, Texas
Laurel Lee, Florida
Wesley Hunt, Texas
Russell Fry, South Carolina

                                 ------                                

               Christopher Hixon, Majority Staff Director
          Amy Rutkin, Minority Staff Director & Chief of Staff
                      Contact Number: 202-225-6906

                                 ------                                

       Subcommittee On Crime And Federal Government Surveillance

                     Andy Biggs, Arizona, Chairman

Matt Gaetz, Florida                  Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas, Ranking 
Tom Tiffany, Wisconsin                   Member
Troy Nehls, Texas                    Lucy McBath, Georgia
Barry Moore, Alabama                 Madeleine Dean, Pennsylvania
Kevin Kiley, California              Cori Bush, Missouri
Laurel Lee, Florida                  Steve Cohen, Tennessee
Russell Fry, South Carolina          David N. Cicilline, Rhode Island








                         C  O  N  T  E  N  T  S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page

Hearing held on August 8, 2023...................................     1

                               Witnesses

                              ----------                              

Mr. Andrew ``Art'' Arthur, Resident Fellow in Law and Policy, 
  Center for Immigration Studies
Oral Statement...................................................     8

Mr. Mark Dannels, Sheriff, Cochise County
Oral Statement...................................................    10

Mr. John W. Ladd, Rancher
Oral Statement...................................................    12

 Opening statements and the prepared statements for the witnesses 
  are available in the U.S. House of Representatives Repository 
  at: docs.house.gov.

                           Index of Documents

                              ----------                              


  * Article, Breitbart, ``10K Migrants Apprehended in One Week in 
    Arizona Border Sector''; submitted by Rep. Biggs.

  * Article, AZPM News, ``Apprehensions and Rescues Increase in 
    Border Patrol Tucson Sector''; submitted by Rep. Biggs.

The documents listed above are available at: docs.house.gov.










 
                  BIDEN'S BORDER CRISIS AND ITS EFFECT
                        ON AMERICAN COMMUNITIES

                              ----------                              


                    Tuesday, August 8, 2023

                        House of Representatives

               Committee on Oversight and Accountability

   Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs

                           jointly, with the

                       Committee on the Judiciary

              Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government

                              Surveillance

                                           Washington, D.C.

    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2 p.m., at 
Cochise College, Student Union Community Room, 901 N. Colombo 
Avenue, Sierra Vista, Arizona, Hon. Glenn Grothman presiding.
    Present: Representatives Biggs, Timmons, and Edwards.
    Also present: Representative Ciscomani.
    Mr. Grothman. The Joint Committee hearing on the crisis on 
our southern border will come to order. Welcome, everybody.
    Without objection, I will declare a recess at any time. Mr. 
Timmons, Mr. Edwards, and Mr. Ciscomani are waived onto the 
hearing for the purpose of participating in today's hearing.
    First of all, before we begin, I think what I will do is I 
will start with Mr. Ciscomani and go across, because you guys 
do not know who they are. Just identify yourself with your 
state.
    Mr. Ciscomani. Sure. Hi, everyone. Juan Ciscomani. I am 
your Congressman. Good to see you all again. Thank you.
    [Applause.]
    Mr. Timmons. Good afternoon. I am Congressman William 
Timmons from Greenville and Spartanburg of South Carolina, 4th 
Congressional District. Great to be here.
    [Applause.]
    Mr. Grothman. Glenn Grothman. I am from Wisconsin, along 
Lake Michigan.
    [Applause.]
    Mr. Biggs. Andy Biggs from Arizona's 5th Congressional 
District, and it is great to be down here in Cochise County.
    [Applause.]
    Mr. Edwards. Good afternoon. I am Chuck Edwards, North 
Carolina's 11th Congressional District. Thank you for all your 
interest. Thanks for being here this afternoon.
    [Applause.]
    Mr. Grothman. OK. We will do this just like any other 
hearing. I will recognize myself for the purpose of making an 
opening statement. I am the Subcommittee Chairman of the 
National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Committee.
    Good afternoon and welcome to our Joint Subcommittee 
hearing on how the Biden Administration's immigration policies 
have impacted border communities and communities across the 
country. I want to thank my colleague, Andy Biggs, who has 
arranged frequent hearings, or at least frequent tours, of the 
southern border for Congressmen from around the country, and I 
would like to thank him for his leadership on this issue and 
his willingness to join in this hearing.
    I want to thank my colleagues for making the time to fly 
out here to learn more about this issue with me. It could not 
be more appropriate that we are here in the Tucson Sector 
because the Border Patrol apprehended over 40,000 illegal 
immigrants in the month of July alone. That is the highest it 
has been in 15 years.
    Even though not all of us are representing southwest border 
states, this illegal immigration impacts every community in the 
United States. The Biden Administration continues to lean into 
failed policies that caused a catastrophe on our southwest 
border. It is a problem that requires oversight. Under this 
Majority, the House Oversight Committee, this will be our fifth 
hearing, the fourth on this Subcommittee alone, on border 
issues. We have conducted seven transcribed interviews with 
chief patrol agents from sectors along the southwest border, 
and we have sent many demands for documents and information to 
the Department of Homeland Security and other relevant agencies 
to provide transparency.
    We intend to understand why the crisis at our southern 
border is only getting worse, even as more and more taxpayer 
dollars are committed to the humanitarian and security 
response.
    And something I am reluctant to point out, but will point 
out, none of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
decided to join us today, despite an open invitation to 
participate. And I will point out right now I am on another 
special Committee dealing with the drug side of this thing, the 
drug cartel side of this thing. At least we were invited to 
come down to Arizona later this month, same thing. We have not 
been able to get any Democrats to come down here. When I get 
around my district again and again I hear, ``Why cannot you 
guys try to work together?'' and we just have a complete lack 
of sense of urgency.
    And I will tell you from being down here and talking to so 
many in the past, you cannot know what is going on the southern 
border unless you have been here and talked to the people who 
live it--both law enforcement, ranchers, what have you.
    Despite President Biden claiming his Administration would 
bring transparency and truth back to the government to share 
the truth, even when it is hard to hear, the Biden 
Administration has tried to hide the truth from the American 
people when it comes to our border security and the crisis they 
have engineered. By the way, I would like to thank--we have a 
few members of the press back there, and I am really glad to 
see that because we do need this being covered to alert the 
American public.
    Disclosures made in litigation between the Biden 
Administration and Florida and Texas show at least two million 
illegal aliens have been released into the United States under 
the Biden Administration. I am sure that is low.
    In Fiscal Year 2023 through June, Customs and Border 
Protection personnel have encountered 2.3 million inadmissible 
aliens at the ports of entry and between ports of entry, almost 
as many encountered in the entire Fiscal Year 2022. So, in 
other words, with 2 months to go, we have already cleared what 
we did last year.
    Additionally, the CBP One smartphone app was created and 
launched in 2020, during the pandemic, to facilitate lawful 
trade and travel for those with legitimate business before the 
agency. The Biden Administration now uses CBP One app to let 
hundreds of thousands of inadmissible aliens into the country, 
overwhelming officers at the points of entry, and leaving 
vulnerabilities in our national security. In other words, what 
is going on? The Border Patrol that expected and was hired to 
guard the border has to deal with paperwork at the points of 
entry instead, which is why you have such big gaps.
    The Biden Administration's propaganda machine calls these 
unlawful parole programs ``lawful pathways.'' Make no mistake, 
these so-called ``lawful pathways'' are anything but lawful and 
are a complete abuse of limited parole authority provided under 
the Immigration and Nationality Act statute.
    When the Biden Administration is not actively breaking our 
immigration laws, they pretend that everything is fine, 
repeating the tired rhetoric that they have created a safe, 
orderly, humane immigration system. That is not true. Look no 
further than how the Biden Administration has mismanaged an 
influx of unaccompanied alien children, many who have been 
subject to horrible abuses by unrelated sponsors who trafficked 
them into forced labor to pay off smuggling debts. And by 
unaccompanied children, children coming across without an 
adult. That is 8,000 to 10,000 every month across this border. 
Unbelievable.
    Earlier this year, I chaired a National Security 
Subcommittee hearing where the Office of Refugee Resettlement 
Director testified about their work to assist unaccompanied 
alien children. It was clear that the Biden Administration 
prioritized speed over safety and failed to properly screen 
sponsors to assist in temporary care for unaccompanied minors. 
It was clear that the unaccompanied minors coming into the 
country faced enormous pressure to work illegal, full-time jobs 
to support either themselves, their families abroad, or to pay 
off debts to cartels or their sponsor.
    I want to emphasize, who may or may not hear it today, that 
a lot of times these people come across, they are obligated by 
the drug cartels who let them in here, to have to pay $8,000 to 
$20,000 for that trip, which is just unbelievable.
    It was clear that employees and contractors who raised 
alarm bells were retaliated against and silenced. Countless 
children--and I say ``countless'' because the Administration 
could not keep track of tens of thousands of these children--
are now being exploited across our country as a direct result 
of the chaos at the border. It is vital that the Biden 
Administration continues to take steps to deter illegal 
immigration and reduce the impact of human trafficking of 
vulnerable children.
    Today, we will explore how the Biden Administration's 
immigration policies have affected our border communities and 
the Nation. Our witnesses today will discuss how the reversal 
of deterrent-focused illegal immigration policies have had an 
adverse effect on American security, business, and livelihoods. 
We will also hear from experts on the big picture issues 
created by the Biden Administration immigration policies and 
how these decisions have implications for the future of our 
immigration policy.
    I would like to thank everyone who traveled from near and 
far to get here and to address this issue, which, in my 
opinion, is the No. 1 issue in the United States right now. I 
look forward to your testimoneys today.
    And now I would like to recognize the Chair of the 
Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government 
Surveillance, Mr. Biggs, for the purpose of making his opening 
statement.
    Mr. Biggs. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is really an honor 
to be here. And I want to start by saying that this is an 
official Committee hearing. This is not some forum or something 
like this. This is an official hearing, and that makes it more 
curious that no one from the other side of the aisle chose to 
come to an official hearing. It is very sad to me because this 
issue should not be a partisan issue.
    I also take this opportunity to thank Mayor Clea McCaa, 
thank you for hosting us, Sierra Vista's Mayor. Thank you to 
the president of Cochise College, J.D. Rottweiler. Thank you 
for hosting. Your staff has been excellent in putting this 
together. Because it is an official hearing this is on C-SPAN. 
That is how you know it is official. If C-SPAN is not here, we 
are not here. So, we appreciate the college's staff and their 
great work.
    We appreciate Sheriff Dannels and his deputies who have 
been providing us with some good security but also good 
information and taking us to multiple places. And I thank both 
of our other witnesses, Mr. Ladd, who we have known for quite 
some time--he is a rancher here--and Art Arthur, and his 
incredible knowledge that you are going to hear from.
    So, there are a lot of people to thank. I thank our U.S. 
Capitol Police escort who is here with us as well. And, of 
course, we thank each and every one of you for your interest in 
coming here today.
    I am pleased to be here in this beautiful part of the 
world--and I crossed out so many things and added so many 
things I am trying to find where I am supposed to be.
    Anyway, I will just also thank my co-chairman for this 
event, or this hearing, Mr. Grothman from Wisconsin. I lead 
regular delegations to the border, all over the border, from 
Rio Grande Valley to San Ysidro, which is San Diego, and he has 
been with me on at least, I think, half a dozen of those. So, 
he is a guy who knows and cares about this intensely. And my 
colleagues who are up here as well, I appreciate them being 
here.
    See, I think it is really important to see what is really 
going on at the border. We can read about it, but the reality 
is until you see it, it does not strike home. You can watch 
videos on TV, but you just do not believe it. In fact, almost 
every time we post a video there is always some yo-yo who said, 
``That is a fake video. It is all staged.'' It is remarkable to 
see.
    So, when I visit the border, and when I am in my district 
in Arizona, I speak with Border Patrol agents, local law 
enforcement officials, concerned citizens, ranchers, 
businessmen and women. I want to know what is going on with 
them and what the impact is. I talk to sometimes education 
officials because you have recruitment going on by cartels of 
youth at schools, through social media apps, to come down and 
pick up people in Cochise County or on I-8 in Pinal County, or 
down in Yuma, to transport bodies for $1,000 or $2,000, and 
take them on up to Phoenix or Tucson.
    So, here is my report that I want to give to you. I can say 
with certainty that the Biden border crisis and its effect on 
American communities is dangerous, is devastating, and it 
demands national attention. It needs it immediately, and I call 
upon our colleagues to help us get whatever legislation needs 
to be passed, passed. We have already passed H.R. 2. It is 
languishing in the Senate. It needs to be passed out of the 
Senate and signed by the President. It probably will not be.
    What needs to happen is enforcement, though. We need the 
executive branch to enforce the laws that are already on the 
books. If they begin doing that, we will see a change very 
quickly.
    DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified in front of the 
House Judiciary Committee just a couple of weeks ago. He does 
not believe there is a crisis. When we reminded him of what the 
Secure Fence Act of 2006, and how it defines operational 
control of the border, which basically says no person and no 
contraband can illegally cross into the United States of 
America, he said no one could do that, and thus, they had 
created their own definition. And according to his own 
definition, he is doing all right. I think that is impeachable. 
It is his reckless disregard for law and order and his 
implementation of open border policies that have caused the 
crisis that we see along the border and in the country.
    When we have open borders, we are not a secure nation. Here 
is one concerning recent example. We have received reports that 
criminal cartels are taking advantage of Secretary Mayorkas' 
open border policies. Secretary Mayorkas implemented the CBP 
One app ostensibly to streamline asylum appointments for 
migrants, allowing them to preregister when they are near the 
U.S. border. Ostensibly, supposedly there was geofencing that 
was going to be there, so that only when you got close to the 
border, which actually provides an incentive to come close to 
the border, but only when you got close to the border then you 
could apply to CBP One to get that expedited appointment.
    Well, that way he describes it as being a lawful entryway. 
It is not lawful. It is not legal. There is no authority for 
that.
    But the even worse news is that cartels now are reportedly 
selling VPN services to migrants, which allow them to 
preregister for a U.S. asylum appointment and to ignore the 
geofencing system before they have even reached northern 
Mexico. These continue to be pull factors or incentives to come 
into this country illegally.
    The CBP One app hurts Americans by welcoming any migrant 
with a smartphone into the U.S. and assists the cartels in 
soliciting more customers to make the dangerous trip to our 
border.
    It is no wonder immigration numbers are again on the rise--
illegal. Do not conflate illegal immigration with legal 
immigration. The illegal border crossings continue to rise even 
though we have had a very hot summer. No one crosses the border 
without the cartels' assistance and approval.
    Drugs are coming across and are literally poisoning our 
communities. It is time for this Administration to stop 
enabling them and to enforce the law. The lives of victims of 
increased crime are at stake. You, in your community of Sierra 
Vista, there will be increased crime because there is increased 
drug use. In my community, in Gilbert, yes, the same thing.
    The lives of state and local law enforcement dealing with 
the continual rise in crime, their lives are at risk. At risk, 
also, are the lives of those in communities who live in fear of 
the violent crime and fentanyl pouring across our border and 
into their neighborhoods. The lives of the victims of known 
terrorists who have entered our open border due to lax 
screening--which, by the way, the Department of Homeland 
Security is now changing the categorization nomenclature. It is 
no longer going to be on this terror watch list. It will be 
``national security risk'' or something like that. Why? Why are 
you changing the language? Because it is easier to hide the 
reality of the gravity of the situation.
    Also, even the lives of those who are trying to get up here 
and cross illegally into the country. Many are dying enroute. 
Many become, as Chairman Grothman pointed out, effectively 
indentured servants to the cartels.
    But this Administration is doing everything it can to 
encourage these people to make the journey, by offering NGO 
assistance and simplifying and expanding so-called lawful 
pathways. Secretary Mayorkas told Congress that DHS is, quote, 
``taking it to the cartels,'' close quote. I wonder if he meant 
the profits for illegal drug and migrant activity. The only 
winners here are the cartels.
    We know these vast criminal networks are also facilitating 
human smuggling at the border and are intentionally targeting 
the areas between the ports of entry. As Deputy Chief Justin 
DeLaTorre stated, quote, ``Those organizations are deliberately 
placing them''--the migrants--``in the most remote regions of 
our area in order to pull our resources off of our patrol 
functions,'' close quote.
    The cartels have cashed in on these Biden policies like the 
mass parole and asylum applications that will take years to 
process, years where aliens remain in the United States 
awaiting a court appointment that they will not even ever 
attend. The last timeframe, and I think Mr. Arthur is going to 
clarify this probably for me, if I remember right it is 84 
months before people who are getting in today are getting court 
dates, 84 months out.
    The Biden Administration is also falsely claiming border 
crossings are decreasing, but that is not really the truth. In 
2023, encounters remained historically high. CBP personnel have 
already encountered 2.3 million inadmissible aliens at and in 
between the ports of entry. The figure does not even include 
the hundreds of thousands of got-aways, who disappear 
completely into American communities and who are trying 
desperately to hide from the agents who would otherwise enforce 
the law.
    In 2022, 98 expected terrorists were apprehended in between 
ports of entry. This year it is over 140.
    The Tucson Sector is no exception to the number of criminal 
migrants flowing across the border as well as other criminal 
activity intercepted by the brave men and women under the 
leadership of Chief John Modlin.
    Let me just give you some recent numbers for the Tucson 
Sector. That is where we are sitting in, the Tucson Sector. 
Yesterday, the at the Port of Nogales, at the port of entry, 
870,000 fentanyl pills, 1 day, port of entry, 870,000 pills. 
Not last week, the week before last, more than 9,000 encounters 
in the Tucson Sector. At Lukeville, just west of Lukeville, two 
nights ago, 535 men in a single group apprehended. Weekend 
before last, just in 3 days, over 3,500 apprehensions.
    That is what is happening in our sector, and Sheriff 
Dannels and Mr. Ladd are going to give us more information 
about what they see on the ground here.
    The Tucson Sector is leading in apprehensions. It has seen 
a 28 percent increase in apprehensions compared to last year. 
In the last week of July, as I said, more than 10,000 migrants 
during that week. In that same week, agents also carried out--
and you will never hear this from the other side--430 migrant 
rescues, 21 human smuggling attempts, they conducted 13 
narcotics seizures, recovered 1 stolen vehicle and 1 firearm, 
and that is from the front lines.
    We invited our friends from the other side of the aisle to 
be here today. This is an official hearing. We miss them. We 
wish they were here. We wish that they would say things like, 
``This is a serious nonpartisan or bipartisan issue'' instead 
of saying that this is all fantasy, and this is hyperbole. It 
is not. The country's future is at stake.
    Thank you for being here. I yield back.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you. Just one other thing. I just 
wanted to welcome Gail Griffin from the Arizona House of 
Representatives here today.
    Mr. Biggs. Mr. Chairman, can I recognize one other person? 
We have Senator majority staff from the State Senate, Kate 
Sawyer, who is here on behalf of Senator David Gowan. Thank you 
for being here, Kate.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. It just bugs me because I am going to 
make one more point. I gave one in the opening statement. Do 
not ever let anybody tell you that America does not have an 
open door to immigrants who have to come here. Last year, over 
1 million people were sworn into this country who came here 
legally. That is the highest it has been in over 15 years.
    OK. Now, pursuant to Committee Rule 9(g), the witnesses 
will please stand and raise your right hands.
    Do you solemnly swear or affirm that the testimony that you 
are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
but the truth, so help you God?
    Mr. Arthur. I do.
    Sheriff Dannels. I do.
    Mr. Ladd. I do.
    Mr. Grothman. Let the record show the witnesses all 
answered in the affirmative. You may be seated.
    We appreciate all of you being here today and look forward 
to your testimony. Let me remind the witnesses that we have 
read your written statements, and they will appear in full in 
the record. Please try to limit--do not go that far over 5 
minutes.
    I will recognize Mr. Arthur for 5 minutes for your opening 
statement.

                       STATEMENT OF ANDREW ARTHUR

                   RESIDENT FELLOW IN LAW AND POLICY

                     CENTER FOR IMMIGRATION STUDIES

    Mr. Arthur. Thank you, Chairman Grothman, Chairman Biggs, 
and Members of the Subcommittees, thank you for inviting me 
today to discuss a topic crucial to our national security and 
communities across the Nation.
    I was honored to serve in the Federal Government beginning 
in the George H. W. Bush Administration, and in my 32 years of 
direct involvement in immigration, the southwest border has 
never been in such a crisis. Border Patrol agents here have 
apprehended more than 5.6 million illegal entrants since 
February 2021, while CBP officers at the southwest border ports 
have encountered more than a half million more. Some 2.7 
million of those aliens were expelled under Title 42, but that 
leaves 3.4 million others who were processed for removal under 
the Immigration Nationality Act.
    The fewer than 17,000 Border Patrol agents stationed at the 
southwest border have struggled to keep up with the migrant 
flow, and at times there have been just a handful of them to 
protect hundreds of miles of border. Consequently, more than 
1.5 million other entrants have crossed the border illegally 
and made their way into the country scot-free.
    Tons of illegal drugs have flowed from Mexico into the 
United States where they are hollowing out communities and 
killing record numbers of our fellow citizens. Listen to the 
Administration spokesman and you will hear that those migrants 
are coming and overwhelming border agents because of endemic 
factors like poverty, crime, corruption, violence, and 
insecurity back home, as well as climate change and the 
lingering economic effects of the COVID pandemic.
    Such push factors do play some role, but as noted, most are 
endemic problems, for many were much worse in the past. In 
truth, the main and driving reason that more than six million 
aliens have come to the southwest border in the past 30 months 
is, as a Federal judge found in March, the reasonable 
expectation that the Administration will release them into the 
country where they will remain indefinitely, if not forever.
    You see, rather than detaining aliens who cross illegally, 
as Congress' laws require, the Administration is abrogating 
your authority to set limits on immigrant entries and creating 
new pathways by which other aliens may enter, including by 
turning the CBP One app from a tool to facilitate lawful 
entries into the country to a means by which inadmissible 
aliens can schedule when and where they will enter the country 
illegally.
    The Administration contends that those aliens are seeking 
to enter legally, which we heard in the opening statements. But 
that contention is legally and factually false. Regardless of 
whether inadmissible aliens cross between the ports or through 
them, the law requires that they be treated exactly the same 
and mandates their detention.
    Instead of detaining those aliens, however, the 
Administration has released at least 2.2 million of them into 
the country, added some 1.5 million others who evaded 
apprehension, and more than 3.7 million aliens, with no right 
to enter, are now living and working in the United States. That 
is larger than the population of five congressional districts, 
or more people than live in Connecticut, the 29th largest 
state.
    If all the unaccompanied alien children who have been 
waived into the country were in one school district it would be 
the 6th largest in the Nation, and that does not include all of 
the children who came with adults in so-called ``family 
units.'' Schools will struggle to provide the children with 
even the most basic of education, and every student's education 
will suffer.
    Nearly all those migrants, adults and children, come with 
little or nothing, and with few skills and little schooling, 
meaning they will disproportionately draw on state, local, and 
Federal resources for support. Few, if any, will have health 
insurance and will rely on already strained emergency rooms and 
clinics for even the most basic forms of primary care.
    Even if the well-off here benefit from cheaper goods and 
services, those benefits are outweighed by the costs that are 
imposed on those Americans, both citizens and legal aliens, 
already struggling economically, who will fall farther behind.
    This is not a Biden versus Trump issue. No other President 
in history, not Presidents Clinton, Bush, or Obama, has ever 
placed the interests of those with no right to come to this 
country ahead of the well-being and security of the American 
people. As Barbara Jordan, civil rights icon, Congresswoman, 
and Chairman of President Clinton's Commission on Immigration 
Reform predicted nearly 30 years ago, that is destroying our 
national interest in legal immigration, as increasing numbers 
of Americans want to see cuts in the number of immigrants 
admitted lawfully every year.
    And none of that even touches on the harm to the migrants 
themselves. More than two-thirds are violently assaulted on the 
way here, and nearly a third of female migrants are sexually 
assaulted. The children, who are used by adults and smugglers 
alike as pawns to ensure quick releases, are all traumatized.
    The Biden Administration has made a choice at the southwest 
border to ignore the laws Congress has written, and the only 
ones benefiting are the smugglers and the cartels, rapacious 
and greedy criminals. By any definition, that is a bad choice 
and a worst deal for the American people and the rule of law.
    Thank you again for the invitation, and I look forward to 
your questions.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you very much. Sheriff Dannels.

                       STATEMENT OF MARK DANNELS

                                SHERIFF

                             COCHISE COUNTY

    Sheriff Dannels. Good afternoon, Chairman Grothman, 
Chairman Biggs, and all the honorable Members of both 
Subcommittees. On behalf of the citizens of Cochise County and 
the state of Arizona, a special welcome to Cochise County.
    I have served our border communities for 39 years and prior 
to that as a proud member of our military, serving at Fort 
Huachuca right here in Cochise County. I have always been a 
genuine believer in my oath of office to protect my country, 
and now my county, as a duly elected sheriff for the last 11 
years. I am the past president of the Arizona Sheriff's 
Association, Chair of the National Sheriff's Association Border 
Security, on the executive board for Western states Sheriffs 
and Southwest Border. All of my associations share three 
objectives: public safety, national security, and humanitarian.
    In my submitted brief, I have shared with you all the 
overview of Cochise County and the history of our border. I 
have personally experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly of 
being a border county. My office has always addressed border-
related crimes, smuggling of both illicit drugs, human, 
weapons, and cash by our transnational organizations, i.e., the 
criminal cartels.
    I am proud of our relationships with our local, state, and 
Federal law enforcement partners that serve our communities, 
but I would be remiss if I did not say thank you to our Customs 
and Border Patrol officers and agents who have worked 
tirelessly and honorably to protect this great nation.
    To best understand my presentation is to understand where 
we were over 3 years ago. My county was one of the safest 
border counties based on the collective governmental efforts, 
messaging, and yes, enforcement efforts supported by the rule 
of law. The direct impact to my county and this office, my 
citizens, and law enforcement addressed mostly got-aways, 
fight-and-flight in my county versus those giving up.
    One hundred percent camouflaged migrants being illegally 
smuggled by the cartels at a price tag that begins around 
$7,000 and up. These smugglers include juveniles being 
recruited via social media by the criminal cartels. Border-
related detention costs over the last 18 months is well over $6 
million, absorbed by my local and state taxpayers.
    Border-related crime is an all-time high: death, murder 
investigations, aggravated acts against my citizens, failure to 
yields, search and rescue to include recovery, and yes, 
assaults against law enforcement officials. My deputies and law 
enforcement officials continue to be placed in life-threatening 
scenarios as the cartels show no regard for my citizens and 
those who wear a badge.
    Agents, troopers, deputies, and others are addressing 
dangerous scenarios and criminals as a direct result of an open 
border, exploited by these criminal cartels for violence, fear, 
and greed.
    In calendar year 2022, we had 1,578 suspects booked into my 
jail for border-related crimes. Out of the 1,578, 78 were 
foreign born, and we had over 600 victims of felony crimes. In 
calendar year 2023, in just a little over 5 months, we had 683 
suspects booked in my jail for border-related crimes; 53 were 
foreign born. This included 121 failure-to-yield pursuits and 
180 smuggler drivers.
    Fentanyl continues to poison and kill Americans at an 
alarming rate, leaving families and communities devastated. 
Arizona efforts by law enforcement are remarkable, but the war 
on drugs must be a priority topic and not deserted by political 
rhetoric. Arizona fentanyl pill seizures account for an 
estimated 51 percent of all fentanyl seized in the country here 
in Arizona. Last year, 2022, Arizona seized over 60 million 
fentanyl pills.
    In closing, my fellow sheriffs and I have tried to partner 
with this Administration to include the President of the United 
States with high hopes to share a collective message, 
collective action plan, support the rule of law, prioritize our 
southern border, and provide updates with reference to 
community impacts and concerns with little to no success. Thank 
you for being here for that.
    By allowing our border security mission and immigration 
laws to be discretionary, these criminal cartels continue to be 
the true winners. Their exploitation of mankind is simply 
``modern-day slavery,'' allowing thousands of pounds of illicit 
drugs into our country that continue to erode the core values 
of families, schools, and subsequently killing Americans on an 
average of 290 every day. It is completely unacceptable at any 
level. Experiencing migrant deaths without a reasonable process 
while Members of our U.S. Congress and this Administration 
intentionally avoids reality is gross negligence.
    Our voice of reason has been buried during what I call an 
``intellectual avoidance'' by this Administration, and yes, 
Members of U.S. Congress. Communities have been neglected and 
abandoned, relying on their own local and state resources to 
address a border that is in a crisis mode.
    Our southern border, against all public comfort statements 
out of Washington, D.C., is in the worst shape I have ever seen 
it. When one looks at public safety, national security, and 
humanitarian, our southern border is the largest crime scene in 
the country.
    The morale of agents is extremely low, and the collective 
frustration is very high amongst law enforcement at all levels, 
and most importantly, our citizens.
    With the recent cancellation of Title 42, this only serves 
to complex a border that needs immediate immigration reform by 
U.S. Congress, but most important, needs to be secured.
    I am a true believer that Customs and Border Patrol are the 
experts of border security, while sheriffs and police chiefs 
are the experts of community. Together, this is a recipe of 
success for all our communities.
    I will leave you with this final statement. We all serve 
the priorities of Americans based on our shared oath of offices 
to keep them safe, enhance their quality of life, and support 
the rule of law, absent political affiliation and the concern 
of reelection. I ask each one of you to reflect on this 
statement as you make your next decision to vote.
    Once again, I thank you and this Committee for the invite 
and opportunity, and now stand ready to answer any questions by 
Members. Thank you.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you, Sheriff. Mr. Ladd.

                       STATEMENT OF JOHN W. LADD

                                RANCHER

    Mr. Ladd. Thank you, gentlemen, for having me. I am a 
fourth-generation cattle rancher. My family has been on the 
same location for over 100 years.
    I got involved in the border over trespassed cattle from 
Mexico, and it has evolved into being against illegal 
immigration. But the benefit of my involvement, as well as Dr. 
Gary Thrasher, who is a vet here, Sonora has got a better and 
cleaner bill of health on their cattle than we do in Arizona. 
So, that has been a plus for cattle.
    And without any sarcasm or anything else, I have the Donald 
Trump wall. I have got Obama's wall. And when they open the 
flood gates every summer to allow the flood water to come 
through, it has defeated the purpose of trespassed cattle as 
well as people, and that is the irony of the whole border. 
Every time we have had something good coming from CBP, somebody 
in anybody's administration shuts it down. It looks to me like 
it is a deliberate process.
    Border Patrol has caught a half a million people, at least, 
on our ranch in the last 30 years. I have got camera towers. I 
have got 18-foot wall, 30-foot wall, radar, and now we do not 
have the manpower. So, there is always some little hitch that 
will not let the border be controlled.
    The only thing that has worked for me is Sheriff Dannels 
and Cochise County Sheriff Department with its SABRE team 
program. He started out with five deputies and a handful of 
cameras. He had the will to implement it. He had the intel, the 
apprehension, and the county attorney prosecuted it. We have 
not had drugs on our ranch for almost 6 years because of the 
sheriff. That sums it up. He had the will, he had the people 
that would do it, but he did it for a fraction of the cost.
    So, I appreciate you being here, and I am not giving up, 
but I spend 50 percent of my time fixing fences, broken water 
lines, and getting cattle off the highway. ADOT does a fairly 
good job trying to fix fences on the highway, but none of the 
other agencies ever look at the damages caused to Cochise 
County by illegal immigration.
    Border Patrol, at this point, we have about a third of the 
agents that we normally have patrolling. My hat is off to them, 
but they are getting worn out, and none of them are going to go 
past a 20-year career. They are done. And that is the sad part 
of America is the Border Patrol is our front line to defend our 
borders, and it is not happening, and it is a lie coming out of 
Washington.
    I do not see anything happening until the next 
administration. During Trump's Administration, we probably had 
10 illegals a week on our ranch. Before Biden even took office, 
with his promise to give amnesty to 11 million people, they 
started coming. They are not bashful about what they are doing. 
I do not have any control over it. I do not stop them or do not 
try and do anything, other than call the sheriff or Border 
Patrol. But they own the whole country on the border, and you 
can get anybody and anything across that border whenever you 
want to do it. And that has been going on for 20 years.
    We live it. I have got grandkids living it. We are used to 
it. That is the sad part about it. We are not scared but we are 
used to it. And do not come around our house unless we know who 
you are. But what are we going to do?
    I do not think the border will ever be the same. No matter 
how good it gets from this point forward, the border is never 
going to be the same. And that is my problem. They come through 
me every day, and they go live with you. You want to go through 
that, with having people that do not speak English next to you, 
your school systems are ruined, your hospital systems are 
ruined, and your welfare is ruined.
    America is nowhere near what it was when I grew up. Thank 
you.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Thank you very much.
    I am going to start with Mr. Arthur. You testified that the 
Biden Administration's claim that the southwest border is safe, 
orderly, and humane, the way they describe it, is not accurate. 
Can you give us some examples of why you feel that way, why you 
would not describe it as safe, orderly, and humane?
    Mr. Arthur. Mr. Chairman, with respect to safety, we have 
seen the number of migrant deaths spike. A couple of years ago, 
actually, I think in 2022, we had 835 bodies found along the 
southwest border. Anybody who goes----
    Mr. Grothman. Say that again because I want a lot of people 
to know that, including the press. How many people die just 
trying to come here?
    Mr. Arthur. So, we know that we have found 835 bodies.
    Mr. Grothman. On our side of the border.
    Mr. Arthur. On our side of the border. We will never know 
how many people have died on the Mexican side of the border. 
There are U.N. estimates about things like that. But anybody 
who has ever gone into the wilds of the Sonoran Desert or into 
south Texas knows that it is not uncommon for individuals to 
find corpses years after the fact in the brush. People just 
simply get lost, they fall into distress, and they die.
    With respect to orderly, we have seen a diminishment for a 
couple of months after the Biden Administration implemented 
some of its new ideas, but that has spiked up. Preliminary 
reports indicate that 130,000 enter the United States 
illegally. Anybody who goes to the southwest border and looks 
at the crossers knows there is nothing orderly about it, and 
there is nothing legal about it.
    It is sort of odd that this passes without notice. Many 
people will say, ``Oh, people who come through the ports are 
doing it the right way.'' It is not. We changed the law. You, 
rather, changed the law back in 1996, to change the law so that 
individuals who come illegally through the ports and 
individuals who cross the border illegally are treated exactly 
the same in the law. There is nothing legal about this.
    And respectfully, sir, as a former congressional staffer 
and as a lawyer, it is offensive to me to hear people talk 
about the law and misstate the law in that manner.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Next question. Did you say before a third 
of the women who make the trek here wind up being molested?
    Mr. Arthur. Doctors Without Borders did a report back in 
2017, I think it was, in which they indicated, I think, the 
actual percentage was 31 percent. I said nearly a third of all 
of them. A significant number of men are sexually molested on 
the way to the United States, and a not insignificant 
percentage are actually shot on their way to the United States.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Now sometimes this jargon, people here in 
the audience might not know what you mean. You have a graph in 
your testimony talking about the number of got-aways who came 
here. I want you to explain briefly the difference between what 
a got-away is and somebody who turns themselves in at the 
border, and then confirm if what this says is accurate. It 
looks like, until the Biden Administration took over, the 
number of got-aways, that is to say people who the Border 
Patrol did not touch and just came in here, it looks like it 
was around 120,000. And now in the most recent year in which 
you have full data it is over 600,000. So, we have gone up by a 
factor of 5-to-1 on the type of people we are not even 
touching.
    Is that accurate? Am I reading that right?
    Mr. Arthur. You are reading that correctly, and the 
definition of ``got-away'' actually appears in the National 
Defense Authorization Act of 2017. It is now codified in 6 USC 
223, for individuals that CBP knows have entered the United 
States illegally but not been apprehended. More than a half 
million in the last 2 years, almost 600,000 in Fiscal Year 
2022.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Sheriff Dannels, you said something that 
kind of struck me. You have jails, obviously. Sheriffs always 
have to run the local jail. Does this flow of people coming 
across the southern border, does this affect the amount of 
money you have to spend on jail?
    Sheriff Dannels. Oh, it does. If you look at just in the 
first 5 months of this calendar year, 683 people were booked in 
my jail for border-related offenses. Of that 683, 621 were 
felony. Cochise County Attorney's Office has six felony 
attorneys, to include the County Attorney himself. That have 
got a record number of prosecutions going on. I commend our 
county attorney. But that enhances our jail time, it enhances 
prosecution time, and investigation time. So, it is a big 
burden on us.
    Mr. Grothman. And I want to ask you, that many felons. You 
know, one of the things we hear when I get around my district, 
sometimes people say, ``Oh, these are all such wonderful 
people. They would never break the law,'' blah-blah-blah. Do 
you find that true that they would never break the law?
    Sheriff Dannels. Well, let me summarize by saying this, Mr. 
Chairman, is what we see in Cochise County as part of the 
Tucson Sector is fight-and-flight. For the most part, we lead 
the Nation in the Tucson Sector for got-aways. These are people 
that are aggravated deportees, whether based on criminal 
records of some sort or countries of interest that are being 
smuggled by the criminal cartels through our county, which 
places my law enforcement and my citizens at risk. That is why 
we prioritized our efforts to secure the border, along with our 
Border Patrol partners, and keep our community safe.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Just one other question before I let you 
go. One of the things I always wonder about is, given the 
severity of the crimes you are describing now, have things 
changed over the last 5 years? Can you tell me how you view the 
world today, compared to if we had this hearing 5 years ago?
    Sheriff Dannels. Well, 4 years ago I was bragging during 
presentations around the country, to include my own state and 
my own community, that we had collectively made Cochise County 
one of the safest places on the southwest border. The cartels 
did not want to play in our backyard because we are ready for 
them, collectively. I cannot say that honestly to my citizens 
today or those when I present.
    We have seen what I call the new normal of border, and that 
is the fact that crime is rampant as a result of border crime, 
all the way up to murder, and we have lost citizens in this 
county, and we have lost people in this county that have died 
at the hands of cartels who do not care. I do care.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Now, see, understand how this normally 
works. Normally each Congressman up here gets 5 minutes of 
questioning, and I am going to call on Congressman Biggs in a 
second. But since I see we have no Democrats here, we are going 
to give everybody two chances to ask 5 minutes of questions.
    OK, Congressman Biggs.
    Mr. Biggs. Thank you very much. Let us start with Mr. 
Arthur. Just real quickly, the number of nations represented in 
the cohort of people illegally entering the country this year.
    Mr. Arthur. Pretty much every nation on the face of the 
Earth. You will hear numbers running from 150 to 186 different 
nationalities. We have gotten people from Nepal to Nigeria to 
Nicaragua, including Guadeloupe, which technically is the 
Department of France, as much of France as Paris is. So, yes, 
the door is wide open to anybody in the world to come here.
    Mr. Biggs. And Sheriff Dannels, let us talk real quickly. 
What is the actual dollar amount you have had to incur to 
incarcerate criminal illegal aliens?
    Sheriff Dannels. We have a captain for the Sheriff's Office 
that addresses all our grant and special programs to include 
this billing and oversight. He told me just this week that we 
just put a bill in, over the last 18 months, it was over $6 
million for border-related incarceration costs. And thanks to 
the state of Arizona, people like Representative Griffin and 
others that have supposed us down here. Otherwise, we would be 
in trouble.
    Mr. Biggs. You have a number of high-speed chases that you 
have encountered in Sierra Vista. I believe the range is two to 
ten on a daily basis, on average. Is that right?
    Sheriff Dannels. Yes. We had just the ones we got our hands 
on that we did not disengage for community risk or for other 
reasons, we had 121 people booked in our jail just for failure 
to yield/pursuits in 5 months.
    Mr. Biggs. In 5 months, 121 in 5 months. So, some of these 
have resulted in severe fatality crashes or severe injury 
crashes. So, not only do you have the incarceration costs, you 
have the enforcement costs. This community is enduring medical 
costs, and the mayor indicated to me earlier today that on 
occasion the hospital has actually been unable to take new 
admittances because of dealing with the illegal aliens and the 
health issues that they might have, or accidents caused by 
them.
    Sheriff Dannels. One of the biggest risks is the lack of 
respect or order by these criminal cartels. As stated earlier, 
the majority of people we see from all over the United States 
via social media come here to pick up, for smuggling purposes, 
due to the fact that it is very lucrative. It ranges from 
$1,500 to $2,500 per person to drive them from Cochise County 
to Phoenix, Arizona, or Maricopa County area. You pick up four 
or five and you can see the numbers adding up very quickly. But 
the cartels tell these drivers, who a lot of them have criminal 
backgrounds, to just speed, just go as fast as you can, get out 
of Cochise County. That places, again, my citizens in harm's 
way, which has become terrorizing when they see red and blue 
lights. The message here in Cochise County, if you see them, 
pull over right away, just for your own safety. It is not a 
good situation.
    Mr. Biggs. Let us go back to you, Mr. Arthur, for just a 
second. Yuma Hospital reported to me last year over about an 8-
month period they had lost almost $25 million in uncompensated 
care due to illegal aliens who had come in and used their 
emergency department, and also that they were averaging five 
illegal aliens in the maternity ward on a daily basis.
    Can you expand on what that has done to communities across 
the country, particularly border communities? By the way, I 
will just add that when I was in Eagle Pass last week, I was 
told that they, just like here, they have times that their 
hospital is closed to new admittances from the local community 
because they are dealing with illegal aliens that are in the 
hospital. So, tell me what we see nationwide.
    Mr. Arthur. So, it is important to keep in mind that right 
now we are seeing what Yale News, I think back in September 
2022, called ``a crisis in emergency departments.'' You know, 
we think of them as emergency rooms. Hospitals deem them 
emergency departments. And that many of them were reaching peak 
capacity. One of the things that they mentioned in the article 
was that when those EDs reach 85 percent capacity, the average 
wait time is more than 6 hours for people to get through.
    Most of the people who come to the United States, as I 
mentioned in my opener, do not have health insurance, and we 
know from various sources, including the National Institutes of 
Health, that unauthorized immigrants in the United States 
disproportionately use emergency departments for primary care. 
They just do not really have another option. Under Federal law, 
EDs have to take everybody that comes in, whether they can pay 
or not, or whether they have insurance or not.
    That is probably going to be the next thing, almost 
definitely going to be the next thing, that we are going to see 
in communities across the country. Those EDs are going to 
become more and more strained. It is going to be harder for 
people to take sick kids, sick relatives, themselves to EDs and 
get treated in a timely manner.
    Mr. Biggs. We are going to have to do something in Congress 
about modifying EMTALA.
    Last question, real quick, Mr. Ladd. I just want to know 
how law enforcement--you touched on this--the local law 
enforcement has actually kind of stepped into the breach of a 
vacuum because of the overwhelming nature that CBP has not been 
able to respond to. What has been the distinction when you have 
enforcement on your property versus when you do not have 
enforcement?
    Mr. Ladd. Well, the Biden Administration has threatened our 
Sheriff Department that they cannot do anything on the 
Roosevelt Easement or any of the apprehensions, but state law, 
with carrying drugs, the sheriff can absolutely apprehend them.
    But when the Border Patrol is depending on our Sheriff 
Department program for their intel, that says it all. And Tim 
Williams talked earlier this morning about the--I think I have 
got $250 million of Homeland Security infrastructure on our 
ranch, including the wall, and the sheriff has done his program 
for $1 or $2 million, and five deputies. That sums up the whole 
hypocrisy of what Homeland Security is doing on the border.
    Mr. Biggs. Thank you. My time is well expired. I yield 
back.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you. Mr. Timmons.
    Mr. Timmons. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First, I want to 
thank you for holding this hearing. I learned a great deal on 
my trip to Arizona, and I appreciate the witnesses for coming 
forward today to testify and help us really understand this 
challenge and try to find a path forward.
    I think the best thing to do is to just kind of go over how 
we got here. 30 months ago, our border was as secure as it has 
ever been. Through diplomacy, Mexico agreed to create a 
National Guard and stationed 28,000 soldiers along their side 
of our shared border. Migrants that sought asylum waited in 
Mexico as their applications were processed. Our Federal 
Government was working hard to finish securing our southern 
border using both physical barriers as well as technology.
    And I think this is the most important part. These policies 
that were being pursued by the Trump Administration were mostly 
a continuation of Obama Administration policies. It is not 
partisan, or at the very least, it should not be.
    So, what happened? The Biden Administration, first week, 
they signed executive orders ending all of this. They stopped 
construction of the border wall, leaving hundreds of millions 
of dollars of wasted taxpayer dollars along our border and 
miles of wall that has not been finished. They immediately 
ended the Remain In Mexico policy, and they allowed the Mexican 
National Guard to vacate their post.
    And what did that result in? What was the result of their 
actions? Since January 2021, there have been almost 7 million 
enforcement actions, and 3.4 million of those have been allowed 
to stay. So again, during the Biden Administration, 3.4 million 
people have been allowed to stay in this country. That is more 
than the population of 20 states in the United States. It is 
more than the population of 20 states in the United States.
    If the influx of illegal immigrants is not enough, just 
this past year we have seen 160 million fentanyl pills, and 24 
percent of those cross the border right here in Cochise County. 
That translates to tens of thousands of deaths, if not hundreds 
of thousands of overdose deaths.
    On top of that you have Democrat mayors in some of our 
largest cities who are experiencing crisis after crisis because 
tens of thousands of these people that have been entering this 
country, of the 3.4 million that have been allowed to stay, 
they do not have the resources. They do not have the 
infrastructure to deal with all of this stuff.
    So, Mr. Arthur, my question to you is why? Why has the 
Biden Administration done this? It is very clear what has 
caused this. It is very clear that we have a problem. Why have 
they done this?
    Mr. Arthur. Congressman, that is probably the biggest 
question that I get, and I do not know because they do not say. 
They pit this as a ``Trump did this thing,'' ``Trump was bad,'' 
you know, ``We are going to be good. We are going to do the 
opposite.''
    But, you know, as I mentioned, I served from Presidents 
beginning with George H. W. Bush. I was a direct advisor, 
personal advisor to Attorney General Janet Reno. None of them 
would have done this. The Biden Administration has removed all 
deterrents to individuals entering the United States illegally. 
No presidency in history has ever done that.
    Mr. Timmons. And in many instances, it has actually 
signaled that they should come, that they need to come, and 
that is just wild to me.
    Sheriff Dannels, when we were touring the border with you 
and your deputies earlier, they mentioned that the original 
height of the wall was increased to 30 feet under the Obama 
Administration. Is that correct?
    Sheriff Dannels. That is correct. Under President Obama, he 
had actually done a remodel on the existing border and raised 
it to over 30 feet. Correct.
    Mr. Timmons. And so, the Trump Administration continued to 
Obama Administration policies to secure our southern border, 
and this President, our current President, I do not understand. 
I think, personally, that he is attempting to exacerbate the 
problem to facilitate another comprehensive immigration reform. 
They attempted to do a lot of things in the Obama 
Administration that I believe were illegal, but they originally 
said they did not have the legal authority, the constitutional 
authority to implement certain programs. And then at the end of 
it he said, ``Well, if Congress is not going to do it, we will 
do it.'' I think this is a continuation of that effort to try 
to make this such a crisis that Congress will act.
    And I will be honest with you. We need to act. We need to 
secure our border. We need to secure our population. Hundreds 
of thousands of people are dying from drug overdoses. Millions 
and millions of people are entering this country illegally. We 
have a massive problem. We are trying to grow our economy. 
Every person that comes to me from my district that has a 
business says that they have a work force challenge. These 
people are not going to work in our factories and in our 
businesses. They are in a shadow economy, and it is not good 
for them, and it is not good for anybody. And we need to put a 
stop to this.
    I will use my other 5 minutes to add additional questions. 
Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Thank you.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Mr. Edwards.
    Mr. Edwards. Thank you, Mr. Chair. To all of our witnesses, 
thank you. Thank you for being here.
    Sheriff, you were mentioning to us in your earlier 
testimony about got-aways. Can you tell us how do you know how 
many folks got away? What vehicle do you use to observe or 
measure got-aways?
    Sheriff Dannels. Congressman, yes. We use two methods here 
in Cochise County and the state of Arizona. Currently, we have 
a virtual camera system that runs the whole state of Arizona 
and parts of New Mexico that is monitored 24/7 through my 
office. We use our statistical data and compare that with our 
Border Patrol partners to ensure that we have accurate numbers 
on got-aways. Got-aways are defined as people that are seen on 
cameras that are never apprehended.
    The other aspect on the CBP side, one of the tools they use 
is the aerostats, commonly known as a blimp. I was told this 
year that out of the 13 blimps, they were coming down at the 
end of this fiscal year, which is next month. There are only 
four left, from my understanding, one being here in Cochise 
County. The sophistication of camera equipment on those 
aerostats is one of the main ways of counting the got-aways.
    Now I can surmise and say the fact, when those four come 
down, what are we going to be using on the Federal side to 
count got-aways? I predict those numbers will go down 
drastically. In D.C., I had asked what the replacement of those 
aerostats would be, and they said they have not developed the 
technology for that yet.
    Mr. Edwards. And so, what is your understanding would be 
the reason in taking those aerostats down?
    Sheriff Dannels. Well, one thing I continue to say and 
continue to hear, and sadly I have to say it, is the fact that 
the numbers are an illusion. I call them non-political numbers 
if they are reported accurately. But No. 2, is it is a shell 
game. It is a shell game. It is a word game to make the 
American people feel safe, when we know here at the community 
level, especially here in Cochise County, that that is a false 
narrative.
    I would also say this. In my travels, as part of national 
sheriffs, as Border Chair, I deal with all the way up to the 
Chief of Border Patrol and many others. I have yet to have one 
tell me that the border is secure, those that wear a badge from 
the Federal Government.
    Mr. Edwards. Sheriff, have you met with President Biden and 
discussed your concerns?
    Sheriff Dannels. We have attempted, on behalf of national 
sheriffs, western sheriffs, major county sheriffs, and 
southwest border sheriffs. I was told during a recent summit 
here in Cochise County and beyond, as sheriffs came together to 
find reasonable and balanced methods to secure our borders, 
secure our communities, who we represent, I was told that 
President Biden is the first President in history that has 
never met with one of America's sheriffs.
    Mr. Edwards. And so, to your knowledge, President Biden has 
not met with any sheriff in America to talk about border 
security.
    Sheriff Dannels. I just got back from another meeting in 
Florida with sheriffs, and to the best of my knowledge, he 
still has not met with any sheriff in America.
    Mr. Edwards. Has anyone in the Administration given you any 
encouragement or told you that they were behind the sheriffs 
and America to partner in dealing with this crisis?
    Sheriff Dannels. To answer that question, Congressman, the 
answer is no. I will caveat that with this. On the onset, 
myself and about a dozen selected sheriffs that are very 
engaged, from urban areas to rural areas to the southwest 
border to the interior, met with Secretary Mayorkas. I actually 
personally hand-carried him a 16-point collective plan to 
secure our border that was put together by sheriffs around the 
country, to include my Border Committee at a national level. 
Approximately 3 months later, I had heard nothing. I asked him 
where that plan was. Had he had a chance to review it, to see 
if we can have some collective thinking or compromise. He asked 
me what plan did I give him. So that is the last I have heard 
on that.
    Mr. Edwards. What can Congress do to help you and the other 
sheriffs address this border crisis?
    Sheriff Dannels. I would ask all congressmembers to, first 
of all, set aside the politics. This is not a political issue. 
This is a public safety, national security, and humanitarian 
issue. I have said this, and I will say it again. Once we set 
the politics aside and look at the community reality of what is 
going on, we need to prioritize and identify the issue of our 
border, all our borders. We need to share a message, local, 
state, and Federal, on what the border means and what we need 
to do with it, which is to enforce the rule of law based on 
actionable consequences. We need enhanced judicial oversight on 
our border, which, if you put that in comparison, if I took all 
the judges out of Cochise County, when we arrest them and have 
to see them the next day, the judges see our incarcerating 
folks, and there is no judge, they are automatically dismissed 
and released.
    That is what is happening on our border, and together we 
can move forward. But until the politics is removed and people 
get their head out of the sand, we have got to get that done 
before we can move forward.
    Mr. Edwards. Sheriff, do you think that this is a political 
stunt in what you see today? Do you see this Committee behaving 
in a political way?
    Sheriff Dannels. I have had the opportunity--obviously 
Congressmen Biggs and Ciscomani, I have worked with, being our 
own Congressmen from Arizona. But the other three, I have not 
met with you until today. I will say this. I applaud you all 
for coming here because you show the respect toward our 
community and you made it actionable by being here and 
listening to us, not just me but others and people in the 
community with the roundtable, with some folks this morning.
    I do not think this is political. People like to use that 
word because it is cheap, but the reality is I applaud you all 
for being here and just listening to what we have to say. And 
the people in the room that are here supporting, I thank them 
too.
    Mr. Edwards. All right. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I yield.
    Mr. Grothman. Mr. Ciscomani.
    Mr. Ciscomani. Thank you, Chairman Grothman, for being here 
and for the opportunity to waive into the Committee. Thank you 
also to Chairman Biggs for the joint session here today.
    It is my privilege to be able to speak on this hearing, 
obviously because I work here, I work for you all, and we have 
been working on this issue now for the 7 months that we have 
been in office and even before. And I have to tell you that 
this is not trending in the right direction, and we have seen 
that through the numbers. That is not just an opinion. It is 
really what has been happening. So, I do want to thank Sheriff 
Dannels and Mr. Ladd, as well, and of course Mr. Arthur, for 
testifying here today and being here with us to give us your 
expertise and your thoughts on this.
    You know, when I look at what is really happening here--and 
we got the report today, and I do want to give a good shout-out 
to the local leadership and the SABRE team that is working on 
this, that has been working on this, and all the people at this 
hearing that have been dealing with this issue for some time 
now. And we have seen the comparisons from 2 to 3 years ago, 
where we were and where we are today, and again, things are not 
trending in the right direction, and they have not been for a 
while. But the local leadership here--city, county, state, and 
we have named many of them here--have done all that they can 
and all that you can to help with this issue.
    Bottom line, this is a Federal issue, and the Federal 
Government needs to step up to the plate on this, and that is 
exactly what we are here to do. And we also talked about the 
bipartisanship on this. When we talk about the city, county, 
and state priority on this, that crosses party lines. And 
Sheriff, you just mentioned it. Public safety, national 
security, and humanitarian. These are the three factors of what 
we are seeing here today, and this Tucson Sector and Sierra 
Vista and Cochise County specifically are ground zero for this. 
The questions that I want to pose here to some of you are 
specific in that area.
    And I will take the opportunity to mention some of the 
things that we have been working on already. But this has been 
a priority for us, for you all, because you are living it day 
in and day out. You live this every single day. I really 
respect and I am grateful for our colleagues here from other 
parts of the country coming here and seeing firsthand what is 
happening, because you really have to see it in order to 
understand it, in order to believe it, many times, and see what 
is exactly happening. And that is what we did today. So, I am 
grateful for that.
    Sheriff Dannels, I will start with you. Could you please 
speak to the tactics that you are seeing that the cartels use 
now to recruit young people?
    Sheriff Dannels. The biggest tactic, and it is no secret, 
is social media. Teenagers today spend a lot of time on social 
media. We know that. It is no secret. And that is why we see 
children from the ages of 13 to 17, and then we have had them 
all the way up to 72 years of age, coming from all over the 
country. And you look at the almost 2,300, as I stated earlier 
in my opening statement. Only 131 were foreign born or 
illegally in the country. The rest were all U.S. citizens, 
coming from Florida, Chicago, two former law enforcement 
officers. I had the privilege of addressing one of them. He did 
not like the consequences, but I addressed it.
    The bottom line is this. As long as social media fails to 
govern that and control that--when you can buy fentanyl off of 
social media for $10 a pill and it is delivered at your house, 
that is a social media drug dealer. There is no other way to 
put it.
    Mr. Ciscomani. Absolutely. We have terrible bad actors, and 
cartels and organized crime pushing fentanyl, and they are 
recruiting with social media. Obviously, I am a co-lead on a 
bill here that I know that you know about, Combatting Cartels 
on Social Media Act. This addresses that issue specifically to 
make sure that these social media companies are communicating 
with law enforcement to be able to tackle this.
    When you talk about the age ranges here, from 12 to 72, I 
have six kids myself, several in this age range. It is scary 
for any parent. This is the kind of thing that keeps you up at 
night, either your child falling to the addiction of these 
drugs being transferred or being recruited for this kind of 
activity.
    I have got several questions, and I am running out of time 
here, but one more question here to you, Sheriff, and then they 
will move on to the next round. Another issue that seems to be 
plaguing our communities, particularly here in Sierra Vista, is 
the high-speed chases that you have talked about as well, 
through our communities. Can you speak to the authorities, you 
know, what has been happening there and how this endangers our 
communities, not only on highways but also in residential 
areas.
    Sheriff Dannels. Well, the vehicle, obviously, when they 
get hooked up by social media they come to our county, they 
pick along the highways, out of the brush, they jump in the 
car, and then 100 miles an hour through. We have spent many, 
many hours of enhanced interdiction, many hours of policy 
rewrite, working with legal, to make sure we are doing 
everything we can to protect our citizens and bring that high-
speed pursuit to a close.
    And I will say something on that if I could, Congressman, 
on this, is something that is not being told either. When we 
see young people, up to a 7-year-old, stuffed in the back of a 
vehicle, and a driver going 100 miles an hour in the opposite 
lane of traffic at 9 at night, who is protecting that migrant? 
I would say the Federal Government is not. We are. We are doing 
everything we can to safely bring these to a conclusion, so we 
see no more death in this county, because that is getting old.
    Mr. Ciscomani. Thank you, sir. The Federal Government has 
clearly been failing at this drastically for years now, and we 
have the right attention on it now.
    Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you. Mr. Arthur, I remember back in the 
last campaign, I think President Biden promised to give illegal 
immigrants all free medical care. Could you comment on that? I 
mean, I have talked to Border Patrol agents when I have come 
across here in the past. Are people coming here offered medical 
care? Is that an expense that the U.S. taxpayer has to deal 
with?
    Mr. Arthur. Yes, the answer, Mr. Chairman, as I mentioned 
before one of the biggest issues that we have, that we will 
face in years to come from this surge we have seen in migrants, 
has been an increase in the number of unauthorized foreign 
nationals who are accessing the U.S. medical care system. 
People criticize it all the time but can certainly understand 
it.
    We have the best health care system in the world. I am born 
and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Saudi sheiks come to Johns 
Hopkins to get treatment. And the fact is that people will come 
to this country, are attracted to this country by the 
opportunity to get free education and free health care.
    Mr. Grothman. I have heard there are people coming here 
solely for the medical care.
    Mr. Arthur. It would not surprise me. And, in fact, when I 
was a young trial attorney, I had a case involving a woman from 
Ethiopia who would fly to San Francisco on a tourist visa. She 
would go to the local charity hospital. She would give birth. 
She was pregnant. She would go down to the State Department 
office on Mission Street, get a passport for her child, and fly 
back.
    And Chairman Biggs had mentioned the situation in Yuma. 
Yuma is very unique because it is very easy to access the 
United States across the Morelos Dam in what we call the Yuma 
Gap. And so, consequently, women will show up in 38 to 40 weeks 
of pregnancy. They will come across directly, which is part of 
the reason why there is such a high number of recently 
apprehended migrants showing up at the Yuma Hospital.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Sheriff Dannels, I know a lot of times 
this is perceived to be migrants coming here from Mexico or 
Central America. Could you tell me where you have found 
migrants coming from, say in the last year?
    Sheriff Dannels. On the southwest border, I believe there 
were over 157 countries encroached upon our border last year on 
the southwest border. That is a lot of countries. We have seen 
them all the way up to Iraq in our country. In fact, to give 
you a story, we had two Iraqis walking on the east side of our 
county, called in. We checked it out. They both said they were 
lost. Well, they were not the typical what we see people that 
are lost in the desert. No. They were not dressed for it, they 
did not look like it, and they did not look tired. But their 
statement to us was they were legally in the country, but they 
were lost here, and they were from Iraq.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. We sometimes hear, or I have heard, that 
the migrants are not necessarily poor. Do any one of the three 
of you want to comment on that?
    Mr. Arthur. There was a situation that a Senator from 
Oklahoma had actually observed in Yuma involving a woman who 
was wearing a very fashionable outfit, and a staffer said, 
``She is wearing Versace.'' And he was like, ``Who is 
Versace?'' He had no idea. They had to put a weight limit on 
the amount of baggage that Border Patrol buses would carry from 
Yuma to the Border Patrol Processing Center because people were 
bringing entire wardrobes of clothing.
    These are outliers, Mr. Chairman, but it is a real 
situation, and many of the people who are coming to this 
country are actually doing pretty well where they are. They 
just want to do better here.
    Mr. Grothman. That is what I have heard.
    Sheriff Dannels talked about the number of migrants who are 
dying every year, and at least when I was in the San Diego 
Sector, we were told that more people were dying on the Mexican 
side than the American side, trying to come here. But is there 
a trend on the number of people dying trying to get here in 
this country?
    Sheriff Dannels. Mr. Chairman, last year, due to the fact 
of death on our southwest border, to include the deaths that we 
are seeing here in Cochise County, the National Sheriffs' 
Association, we put out a sample photo album of all the 
migrants, and I believe there were over 1,300 died under this 
Administration that had died of horrific deaths of exposure on 
U.S. soil, that we sent to every sheriff in this country to 
bring awareness that sheriffs, get your head up and let us 
unite on this. But we are seeing historical numbers. I mean, I 
just saw a thing the other day where just with the amount of 
heat we are seeing on the southwest border and the amount of 
deaths we are seeing on that.
    So again, it is inhumane, to say the least.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Mr. Ladd, final question for you. You 
have obviously had your farm on the border for many, many 
years. Could you comment on the presence of the Border Patrol 
today compared to, again, say three or 4 years ago?
    Mr. Ladd. Oh, yes. It is about 25 percent of what we 
normally have. The Brian Terry Station is somewhere around 400 
agents typically, and probably 200 of them are detailed out and 
the rest of them are processing people. So, they pull them off 
the border.
    Mr. Grothman. So, you have seen what we have heard, and 
that is the sea of people coming here means so many of the 
Border Patrol agents, who are Border Patrol agents because they 
like guarding the border, are stuck doing paperwork because of 
this sea of people. Is that what you saw?
    Mr. Ladd. That is absolutely right.
    Mr. Grothman. OK. Thank you very much.
    Mr. Arthur. Mr. Chairman, before you move on if I could 
just talk about technical assistance point that you had made, 
that Sheriff Dannels had made, about the large number of 
deaths. Deaths are sky high. Another thing that is sky high is 
Border Patrol searches and rescues. Border Patrol agents are 
literally saving tens of thousands of people, exponentially 
higher numbers. I just feel that it is appropriate to bring 
that up.
    They will put their lives in danger in the Sonoran Desert, 
in the Rio Grande. Floods come up all of a sudden, flash floods 
100 miles downriver will send water down. They will jump into 
that water to save children. Migrants will throw children into 
the water knowing that agents will go after those children. 
Smugglers will do that, knowing that they will be able to get 
back across the river.
    Mr. Grothman. Right. The American citizens have done a 
tremendous job here putting gallons of water out in the middle 
of the desert, hoping people do not dehydrate.
    Congressman Biggs.
    Mr. Biggs. Thank you. Thanks, Mr. Chairman.
    Sheriff Dannels, one of the things that seems consistent to 
me in your testimony is when we fail to enforce law, we fail to 
have the deterrence effect, and bad people do bad things. So, 
in that vacuum, I am wondering if you can talk about how the 
policies and the failure to enforce the law has created a 
situation where we see increasing amounts of human trafficking.
    Sheriff Dannels. Well, when you look at the stats under 
this current Administration compared to where we were in the 
past, we used to run between 5 and 10 percent when it comes to 
border crimes. Right now, we are seeing 40 to 44 percent 
increase in our optics and our operational tempo, so it has 
caused a huge increase for us.
    I will just say this, and I have said this before, and it 
is going to sound bad, but it comes out the way it is. When 
these transnational organizations, the criminal cartels have 
better operational plans, criminal plans at that, and will, 
than our current Administration, obviously no matter what 
policy you put in place, this Administration has to prioritize 
and put will with sustained operational plans with secure 
policies, a sustained policy that is going to secure our 
border. Until we do that, in partnership with Congress, we have 
all got to work together, and I promise you your state 
governors, your sheriffs around the country, your police chiefs 
will rally behind you on reasonable consequences and laws.
    Mr. Biggs. Mr. Arthur, we have touched lightly on parole 
policy, but in reality, this Administration has changed the 
actual de facto implication of parole. Previously, the numbers 
I was given was the high was 24, because parole was meant to be 
particularized, on a case-by-case individual basis.
    What has changing parole to be--quite frankly, this is 
being litigated, right--so what does it mean when Secretary 
Mayorkas is talking about parole by categories?
    Mr. Arthur. Very briefly, parole is a very limited 
authority that Congress has given to DHS that enables them to 
allow an inadmissible alien into the United States. It could 
only be granted on a case-by-case basis for significant public 
benefit or urgent humanitarian reasons. For decades, those 
terms were defined. ``Significant public benefit'' was we had 
to have a criminal defendant come into trial. ``Urgent 
humanitarian reasons'' were emergency medical treatment.
    The Biden Administration has used that authority to parole 
1.437 million people into the United States. Basically, what 
they have done is they have taken 24 people a month. In fact, 
it was actually 7, shortly before Judge Wetherell in Florida v. 
United States put the hammer down on Border Patrol agents 
releasing people on parole. Border Patrol leadership could see 
the writing on the wall, and 7 people on the entire southwest 
border were paroled in the month of February. That is how it 
should be.
    When you are talking about 1.437 million it applies a 
pseudo-legal gloss to what is an inherently illegal system. 
Congress actually amended the law in 1996, in order to tighten 
the restrictions from the ones that I just mentioned, and the 
Biden Administration is just blowing past those.
    Mr. Biggs. And the result has been a pull factor, an 
incentive to come. That is really how catch-and-release works 
now is through categorization of parole.
    Mr. Arthur. That is correct, and that was one of the points 
that Judge Wetherell made in his Florida decision was the 
reason that people are coming is because they are getting in. 
Categorization of parole is a misnomer. You cannot have a case-
by-case categorization. And, in fact, the Biden Administration 
is using parole almost in a mirror image, because rather than 
case-by-case it is an entire group of people, not based on the 
limited factors, but we only keep out the people who, you know, 
do not meet our factors. This is nothing what Congress said it 
should be.
    Mr. Biggs. Let us shift and let us talk about New York, 
where Mayor Adams is just beside himself because of the 93,000 
illegal aliens that have come into his community, vis-`-vis the 
number that we have seen come through, let us say, Yuma, 1,000 
a month--excuse me, 1,000 a day, on many days, and Sierra 
Vista.
    Talk about the impact. So, he has to deal with an impact of 
93,000 illegal aliens there. Schools--let us just talk schools, 
for instance, in New York City.
    Mr. Arthur. So, based upon reports that have been issued by 
the New York City Comptroller's Office, I determined that if 
35,000 illegal migrants relocated to New York it would impose a 
cost of $440 million on the New York City public school system, 
just that one school district. We know that 93,000 migrants 
have made their way to New York. Mayor Adams is asking for $4 
billion to basically provide food and shelter and medical 
services for those individuals. That does not even count the 
educational part of that.
    But yes, I mean, it is probably about $1.2 billion just in 
educational costs, but to break down the cost that Mayor Adams 
is talking about, he wants $4 billion from the Federal 
Government to deal with his migrant issue. That works out to 
$471.14 per 8.9 million people living in New York. That is 23 
$20 bills, 1 $10 bill, a dime, and four pennies.
    This is a huge amount of money, but these are the costs 
that are being imposed on places all across the United States. 
Portland, Maine, I was there a few weeks back, is reeling, 
trying to deal with the problem. You talk to anybody on the 
streets. Denver, Colorado. These are not border towns.
    I did an interview this morning with News Nation, and the 
anchor who was interviewing me finished it up with, ``Every 
town is a border town,'' and that is true.
    Mr. Biggs. So, Mr. Chairman, my time has long expired, but 
could I pleased be recognized for unanimous consent?
    Mr. Grothman. Sure.
    Mr. Biggs. So, my unanimous consent, I ask that an article 
dated 2 days ago, entitled, ``10,000 Migrants Apprehended in 
One Week on Arizona Border Sector,'' be admitted into the 
record, as well as another piece from 3 days ago, called, 
``Apprehensions and Rescues Increase in Border Patrol Tucson 
Sector,'' as well as--I think I will just stay there for now, 
and I would ask that they be admitted into the record.
    Mr. Grothman. So ordered.
    Mr. Grothman. Congressman Timmons.
    Mr. Timmons. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I have been working 
on what I was going to ask for the last 20 minutes, and the 
fact that he started asking my questions at the end is a good 
sign. That is a good sign. You know, we keep saying that this 
should not be a partisan issue, and I just want to expand on 
the fact that it really is not partisan at all.
    And I really want to begin by saying who is the current 
situation even actually good for? Obviously, Congressman Biggs 
just talked about New York. Just yesterday Mayor Adams 
announced, complained about, the fact that he was going to have 
to turn Randall Island, which is a kid's soccer field, into a 
migrant shelter for 2,000 adult migrants. Two weeks ago, D.C. 
Mayor Bowser announced they spent $20 million this year on the 
migrant crisis. Even some of the most progressive members of 
the D.C. City Council that have been ardently supportive of 
sanctuary cities, have now said that D.C. is a border town.
    I mean, all of these people that have been pushing these 
pro-illegal immigration policies, these lawless policies at the 
southern border, they are now coming around to say, ``Oh, this 
does not really work.'' And it does not just adversely impact 
border counties and cities, it impacts the whole country. As 
you said, Mr. Arthur, every town is a border town.
    On top of that, I mean, I know eight people that have died 
from fentanyl overdose that I have met throughout the course of 
my life, and hundreds of thousands of people are dying from 
fentanyl overdoses, and they have families, and it is just a 
huge tragedy of an epic proportion that is extremely 
preventable. It is extremely preventable.
    So, if it is not good for the American people, if it is not 
good for even the most liberal cities who have been spouting 
this ultra-progressive nonsense for decades, if they are coming 
around, I think that it might be past time for the Biden 
Administration to come around. But before we get to that, who 
is it good for?
    Sheriff Dannels, when we were meeting with your deputies, I 
think it is great for the cartels. You all threw out the number 
$2.6 billion in revenue. What is the time that they had $2.6 
billion in revenue? Is that annual?
    Sheriff Dannels. That is an annual number.
    Mr. Timmons. That is an annual number.
    Sheriff Dannels. That is what they took home, by the way. 
That was after all costs.
    Mr. Timmons. That is net.
    Sheriff Dannels. Yes, that is net.
    Mr. Timmons. I would love to see the accounting on all 
this.
    So, we literally are allowing the lawlessness at our 
southern border, which I would argue is simply because the 
previous administration is just so hated by the current 
administration. Anything that they did, anything that the Trump 
Administration did, it had to be undone immediately. And 
Americans are dying, our cities are overrun, and we do not have 
the infrastructure to address this. Our economy is suffering 
because our tax base does not support the institutions, does 
not support the hospitals, does not support the schools, does 
not support the roads.
    We just really, really, really need to do something about 
this, and I hope that the Biden Administration is going to 
start listening, as their mayors in their major cities are 
sounding the alarm. Obviously, Sheriff Dannels, you have been 
sounding the alarm for years. I spoke with my law enforcement, 
my solicitor, my sheriff this afternoon. This is a huge 
problem. We are fighting it the best that we can. But we need 
to secure the southern border. We need to finish the wall. We 
need to add technology. We need to reinstate Remain In Mexico. 
We need to get the Mexican government to redeploy the 28,000 
Guardsmen to secure their side of the border, and we need to 
secure our side of the border, and we need to fix immigration 
policy going forward.
    It does not work, and people all over the world want to 
come to the United States and pursue the American dream, and 
they are denied that opportunity because all of the resources 
are being sucked to the illegal part of the equation, and the 
legal side does not have the resources to address the need. And 
by the way, our entire economy is suffering because of it. We 
have millions of jobs that need people that want to come here 
and work hard and pursue the American dream, raise their 
families, and they are denied that opportunity because this 
Administration refuses to secure our southern border and 
refuses to enforce the rule of law.
    And that is the message I send to the White House. That is 
the message I send to the President. It is past time that we 
make changes, and I will do whatever I can in Congress to help 
fix this problem.
    And with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you. Mr. Edwards.
    Mr. Edwards. Mr. Arthur, just very quickly, could you 
remind all of us, what is the original purpose of asylum?
    Mr. Arthur. The original purpose of asylum is to ensure 
that individuals who have been persecuted on account of race, 
religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group 
or political opinion are not returned to that persecution.
    Mr. Edwards. And so, is it your observation that that 
purpose is being used as it is intended today or is it in some 
way being abused?
    Mr. Arthur. Absolutely not. It is not being used in the 
manner that it should be. And very briefly, when you read 
interviews in the newspapers, you hear them on the press, 
people are coming here because they are fleeing poverty. They 
are fleeing crime. They are looking for a better life. And I 
can understand that, and I can understand the instinct for 
doing that.
    None of those things are a basis for asylum. Right now, the 
Biden Administration has admitted so many people into the 
United States that there are 1.4 million-plus individuals 
currently applying for asylum in this country. Representative 
Biggs, Mr. Chairman Biggs had talked about 84 months for people 
to be put into proceedings. It is actually much worse than 
that.
    Some of those people are not even going to start the asylum 
process until 2032, at the New York office. They are not even 
going to get into proceedings to begin the 4-plus-year process 
to apply for asylum, and that is bad in a couple of ways, Mr. 
Edwards. One, people who come here and make bogus claims are 
taking advantage of the humanitarian instincts of the American 
people and making it less likely that future people who truly 
need asylum are going to get it.
    Two, the more quickly that we can get asylum for an 
individual who truly deserves it, the more quickly that person 
is, one, going to be able to get their life in order here, but 
two, and more importantly, bring relatives back home who 
probably are either persecuted because of very similar claims 
or because of their relationship with the primary asylum 
applicant to this country.
    We want to give people asylum as quickly as possible who 
deserve asylum, but right now there are so many people filing 
bogus, weak, or nonexistent claims, it is gumming up the 
system. It is denying justice all around.
    Mr. Edwards. And so, I think I hear you saying that there 
is a distinct difference between folks that are coming here for 
a better way of life and those folks that really are fearful of 
persecution for the reasons that you mentioned.
    Mr. Arthur. Absolutely, and it is ruining the asylum 
system, sir.
    Mr. Edwards. All right. Thank you.
    Sheriff, have you seen an increase in unaccompanied minors 
coming across the border?
    Sheriff Dannels. We do not see that here in Cochise County. 
What we see, probably 89 percent of what we see, Congressman, 
is single male adults, ages 20 to 30 years of age, very 
healthy, camouflaged from booties to headgear. We see very, 
very few children and females coming through Cochise County.
    Mr. Edwards. But you do see children in America working to 
help cartels smuggle immigrants across the border. Can you tell 
us a little bit about that?
    Sheriff Dannels. I believe last year--and again, top of my 
head here, and I do not have this right in front of me--last 
year, just in Cochise County, we had over, I believe it was 89 
to 100 juvenile drivers smuggling for the cartels, that we took 
into custody and got our hands on.
    Mr. Edwards. And how much do they earn, to smuggle a body 
across the border?
    Sheriff Dannels. Unfortunately, that is another illusion. 
They advertise $2,500, safe routes through Cochise County, easy 
money that is lucrative to these young kids, these vulnerable 
minds. And when they finally get to their destinations it is 
always different--let us put it that way--what they actually 
get paid. But for this young people, it is a lot of money.
    Mr. Edwards. So, who is advertising to these young people 
that they can make $2,500?
    Sheriff Dannels. The cartels, the criminal cartels.
    Mr. Edwards. And what method are they using to advertise?
    Sheriff Dannels. Social media and all apps. Pretty much any 
social media app, the popular ones, they are all over there.
    Mr. Edwards. Mr. Ladd, why is your property a primary 
crossing point for illegal activity?
    Mr. Ladd. Well, No. 1, there is a good infrastructure 
system in Mexico. We have a port of entry at the Naco, Arizona/
Naco, Sonora, and it is pretty easy terrain. Originally, Border 
Patrol, I believe, deliberately put them into Cochise County 
thinking that they would not climb over the Huachuca Mountains 
or the Peloncillo Mountains to the east. The terrain is too 
rough. And then Highway 92 is 3 miles from the border, so you 
have got a 3-mile walk, you get loaded up, and you are gone.
    Mr. Edwards. Thank you. Thank you for sharing your story. 
Thank you for being a part of this solution.
    Mr. Ladd. If I could add to who benefits from this, look at 
the NGOs that are getting subsidized for taking care of the 
illegals. They are making millions of dollars on a service that 
I think is corrupted, in my opinion.
    Mr. Edwards. Thank you. Mr. Chair, I yield back.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you. Mr. Ciscomani.
    Mr. Ciscomani. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You know, I ended 
the last round by saying that the Federal Government is 
failing, and I really stand by that. That means that they are 
failing everyone. I mean, they are failing all of you here by 
not doing what needs to be done to protect. They are also 
failing our agents, though. They are failing our Border Patrol 
agents and those that are on the front line, fighting hard, and 
those in law enforcement as well. And I would even venture to 
say that they are failing those that are seeking an opportunity 
of a better life in this country. They are absolutely failing 
everyone. There is no win on this one for really anyone.
    And talking about our agents here, one of the main efforts, 
I came here shortly after starting my first term just a few 
months ago, and one of the first things I did was meet with our 
Border Patrol agents and law enforcement. We had a combined 
meeting. And one of the things that I heard, was the need to do 
something about making it a Federal crime for evading law 
enforcement when they are fleeing. We talk about these high-
speed chases. We need to tackle the root issue which is, again, 
the social media aspect, but also increasing penalties on those 
that are fleeing law enforcement, because right now it is not. 
And I think many of the people in the room were shocked, 
including myself, that it is not even a Federal crime to do so. 
So, that is one of the things that we have taken immediate 
action on.
    Mr. Ladd, talking about penalties to those that are 
breaking the law here, we talked about those transporting 
people, but also on the spotter side. I visited your ranch. I 
have been there several times, and you have taken me around and 
shown me several aspects of it. I got to see the wall stacked 
up there, that was there for a long time without being used.
    One of the other things you showed me was the activity that 
you can see on the other side and the activity by these 
spotters. Because I also have a bill here that will increase 
penalties for those people that are enabling and participating 
in the spotting system. Can you talk a little bit about the 
spotters, please?
    Mr. Ladd. Well, it is widespread on the whole border. They 
have got good optics, they are dedicated that they will be at 
their outpost for 2 weeks at a time, and they have got really 
good cell service, so they are in communication with the rest 
of the smuggling crew. And when they do not see law enforcement 
or Border Patrol, they go for it.
    You know, they are on my ranch, they are in the mountains 
above us, they are out where we were this morning, and nobody 
can touch them. And even the Mexican Army will not touch them. 
But they know exactly what is going on. They know how many 
people are on the border. They know how many people they have 
got crossing at any given time. They stage it.
    An example on our ranch is the first shift of Border Patrol 
in the morning, they are going to catch three groups. They are 
going to be tied up an hour and a half, and while they are 
processing that group waiting for transport there is going to 
be five groups that go right past them.
    Mr. Ciscomani. Exactly. We have seen that, and that is 
exactly what they are reporting as well.
    I am going to try to fit in two more points. Mr. Arthur, 
real quick here, you talked about the impact on the legal 
system here, on the legal part of becoming a resident and 
eventually a citizen. I know that system well. I was born in 
Mexico, and I actually became a United States citizen in 2006. 
And then I became a U.S. Congressman in 2022, 16 years later. 
This is the best country in the world. This country is a 
welcoming country. It is a country of laws as well, of being 
gracious, and being welcoming of so many people around the 
world.
    I can tell you, firsthand, how many holes and things we 
need to fix on the legal side of becoming a United States 
citizen, given that my family and I got here years and years 
before. I got here as a young child, and it took us that long 
to be able to finally become U.S. citizens. Now I know that 
firsthand because I went through it. I started as a child and 
because a citizen when I was an adult.
    So, on this impact that the illegal activity now is having 
on the legal side of people that have been on the waiting list 
and in line, basically, for so long, can you talk just briefly 
on that? And I want to get one more point in, if you may.
    Mr. Arthur. Absolutely. One, the Gallup organization does 
polling on impressions of immigrants in the United States. That 
polling has taken a very dire turn, and a plurality of 
Americans now want to see less legal immigration in the United 
States, which is bad. We want to continue to bring in the 
vibrancy to this country.
    But there are a couple of other aspects of that, very 
briefly, Mr. Ciscomani. One is, we have so many asylum claims 
that are pending before the immigration court, before USCIS. A 
large number of people who want to bring their family to the 
United States, who want to come to the United States legally, 
their applications are stuck in that backlog. They are truly 
suffering.
    At the ports, we have legitimate travelers who want to 
cross the border into the United States. Right now, CBP One, we 
have heard talked about--1,450 interviews per day, and you 
could show up any time during a 23-hour period. You can imagine 
what effect that is going to have on the ports on the other 
side and on the ability to stop the fentanyl that Mr. Timmons 
had talked about before. If you are pulling those agents off to 
talk to somebody who does not have any right to be here, you 
are going to slow up that system.
    Mr. Ciscomani. Thank you. I am out of time, but the last 
point I want to make is several of you mentioned, and I think 
it is important food for thought here for my colleagues and 
also for everyone here, everyone here brought up the point of 
Mexico and their role in all this and how when they were 
cooperating just a few years ago things were a lot better. And 
the diplomacy needed here and also them being our No. 1 trading 
partner, living on the border like all of us do here is an 
asset, not a liability, and it should not be seen as a 
liability, but has become one in a lot of ways due to this lack 
of enforcement.
    So, we need to continue to work, and Mexico needs to work 
with us as well, in order to live up to their end of the 
securing the border piece as well.
    And with that, Mr. Chair, once again, thank you so much for 
bringing the attention to the border and for bringing both 
Subcommittees here to CD 6 in Arizona. Thank you so much. 
Thanks to the witnesses as well.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you very much. Mr. Biggs.
    Mr. Biggs. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This is a closing 
statement. When I chair my Committee in Congress in a solo 
fashion, I do not allow closing statements, but Chairman 
Grothman is one nice fellow, and I was surprised that he was 
going to give me a closing statement, so I have a few things 
that I want to say.
    Somebody said, ``What can we do?'' I want to address that. 
I want to talk about what Congress can do when you have a 
slight Majority in the House, the other side has a different 
Majority in the Senate, and the White House seems to disagree 
with us on what to do with this issue.
    The first thing is the Constitution, the founders gave us 
the origination of the spending. That is what they gave to us 
as the first check. If people really believe this is the 
existential crisis that I think it is, and then you look at our 
spending, which is absolutely nutty, crazy, then it is time to 
very laser-like focus on where you want the money spent, get 
rid of the crappy programs, and focus on where you want that 
money spent, and if they do not spend it to enforce the law, 
they lose that funding. They should not be allowed to have that 
funding. And then, at the same time, you make sure that ICE and 
that the Border Patrol and others enforcing border law have the 
revenue they need, the sources they need. And that is step one.
    The second thing is you have hearings and transparency like 
this. Why is that? It is because everybody in this room, I 
think, at least has some recognition of the urgency of reaching 
a solution on this problem, but there are many in this country 
that do not. We had a hearing in Judiciary 2 weeks ago. 
Everybody from the Northeast said, ``Hey, there is no problem 
on the border,'' even Mr. Nadler, who is from New York, for 
mercy's sake, where even Eric Adams is now frantic. You have to 
continue to elevate that.
    The third thing is we have something called the Holman rule 
that allows us to go in and reorganize various aspects of 
departments and agencies that are failing to do their duty. 
That needs to be done at the highest levels of the Department 
of Homeland Security. And that also goes hand-in-glove with 
another tool that the framers gave us, to hold accountable 
elected or appointed officials within the executive branch. 
When you have officials in the executive branch that are public 
officials, who have violated the public trust, and we cannot 
wait until the next election to remove them from office and 
have them replaced, then we need to act. That is called 
impeachment. That is what needs to happen here, in my opinion, 
of Secretary Mayorkas.
    Additionally, specifically, let me give you an example on 
the funding. We must stop funding the non-government 
organizations that are actually facilitating--studies and 
reports have demonstrated that there are nine particular NGOs 
that are helping to fuel this border crisis. They are getting 
people to come across. They are facilitating human trafficking.
    I think you have to use every tool available. If you want 
to solve the problem, that is what you are going to have to do. 
You have to provide support for local law enforcement. Look 
what has happened here--and I will give you another example. 
So, Sheriff Dannels and the Cochise County has done a great job 
of trying to help out.
    I will give you another example. In Texas, if you go down 
to the Texas border, Eagle Pass. What has happened there? It is 
not CBP because the leaders of CBP are not helping enforce 
Eagle Pass. It is Texas Department of Public Safety that is 
trying to secure that.
    And so, the Supreme Court has held that when the Federal 
Government vacates the field, local jurisdictions can step in. 
Article IV, Section 4 makes it clear, in my opinion, that we 
have failed because it is our responsibility to make sure that 
no invasion takes place in any state. That is what Article IV, 
Section 4 requires of the Federal Government. We have failed. 
Just the sheer numbers. There has never been that kind of 
incursion in any nation in the history of the world. In the 
world. It just has never happened.
    So, Mr. Grothman, the Chairman, is probably tired of 
hearing from me. It is his fault. He gave me a closing 
statement. But I decided to just take advantage of it and just 
rant for a little bit. He did not even tell me how much time I 
had.
    So those are things I think we can do. We have to do them. 
We have to take action. These folks here that showed up for the 
hearing today, I am grateful for them. But I call on my other 
colleagues. Help us out. I yield.
    Mr. Grothman. Thank you. I will agree with Mr. Biggs that 
this is the most important crisis facing America. Today, we 
heard testimony on a variety of facets of that crisis, the 
sheer volume of unvetted people coming from all around the 
world, the drugs coming across the border, over 100,000 people 
dying every year, the medical costs to America and the school 
costs to America, the humanitarian costs of people dying in the 
Rio Grande or dying in the desert or dying in the Pacific 
Ocean, and the corrupting of our minors as they get dragged 
into transporting these people.
    But in any event, I do feel this hearing has highlighted 
the need for continued oversight of the Biden Administration's 
policy. The Department of Homeland Security and their law 
enforcement partners have a huge issue to secure our borders. 
Our hardworking officers and agents and their partners in local 
communities cannot adequately defend the border and protect 
American communities if there is no desire and leadership in 
Washington.
    And let us face it. They do not like to say it. They do not 
care. They absolutely do not care how many people cross the 
border and how overworked the Border Patrol is. They do not 
care.
    Female Voice. What do they care about?
    Mr. Grothman. Well, they care about changing America.
    But it is my hope that being here in the Tucson Sector and 
hearing from witnesses will shed light on President Biden's 
failed policies. I would like to thank Chairman Biggs for doing 
all this to set this up as well as for his opening, and even 
closing statement. And other Members who joined us today, I 
would like to thank you for coming from all over the country.
    With that, and without objection, all Members will have 5 
legislative days within which to submit materials and to submit 
additional written questions for the witnesses, which will be 
forwarded to the witnesses for their response.
    If there is no further business, without objection--oh, and 
by the way, I would like to thank the staff for coming halfway 
across the country and keeping us in line. If there is no 
further business, without objection the joint Committee hearing 
stands adjourned. Thank you.
    [Whereupon, at 3:47 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

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