[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 8, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215
                   THE CRISIS ON OUR SOUTHERN BORDER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Kansas (Mr. Marshall) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, the crisis on our southern border is very 
real. When I took the oath to represent the big First District of 
Kansas, it became my responsibility to put our citizens and their 
security first. Without secure borders, we cannot ensure our Nation's 
safety, period.
  We have tens of thousands of immigrants filling our entryways every 
month and, in result; drugs, criminals, and violence spilling into our 
country. I challenge all my colleagues that are denying this crisis 
exists to go and see our southern border firsthand, as I did, and it 
was quite an eye-opening moment.
  Last year alone, there were 1.7 million pounds of narcotics--let me 
say that again--1.7 million pounds of narcotics seized by Customs and 
Border Patrol. Seventeen thousand adults with existing criminal records 
attempted to enter our southern border; that is over 40 per day.
  But perhaps, Mr. Speaker, the most eye-opening of all, we are now 
averaging over 1,000 illegal and inadmissible people per day. That is 
in 1 day, over 1,000 people.
  The $5.7 billion the President is asking for is an investment of 
taxpayer dollars that will pay off for decades.
  The fact that some of my colleagues are blatantly ignoring that walls 
along the border work is intellectually dishonest. According to DHS and 
U.S. Border Patrol, illegal trafficking has dropped more than 90 
percent in places where walls and barriers were built.
  It is embarrassing that, even with this evidence, my friends on the 
other side of the aisle shut down the government because this Congress 
cannot do its most basic duty to do its job and prioritize our 
country's safety by funding initiatives that we know for a fact work.
  I agree, though, that we cannot stop at border security alone. It is 
crucial that we also address and fix our very broken immigration system 
and allow hardworking migrants who want to work hard and raise their 
families in the United States to come.
  There is a right way to do this. There is a win-win-win opportunity. 
There is a win for border security; there is a win for immigration 
policy overhaul; and there is a win to reopen the small portion of 
government which is closed.
  I am continually frustrated by the narrative that we can't win for 
all American parties here in these negotiations. This is an opportune 
moment to quit kicking the can down the road and actually work together 
to couple border security priorities with long-term immigration fixes.
  As we enter the 17th day of this government shutdown, I will continue 
to stand for a secure America and hope my colleagues choose an open 
government over open borders.

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