[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 8, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S37]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            BORDER SECURITY

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, as I mentioned, this partial government 
shutdown continues, now on its 18th day. But 18 days in, not much has 
changed. The newly elected Democratic House refused to come to the 
negotiating table with a serious offer or to negotiate in good faith.
  This entire debate has been surreal. I would say it has been a joke, 
but it is really not funny. It has now degenerated into a game of silly 
semantics, while losing sight of just how much is at stake for the 
people affected.
  A secure and vibrant border is critical to the safety and livelihood 
of our entire country, and it, of course, plays a vital part in the 
daily life for many Texans, especially those who live and work in the 
border region. If you visit El Paso, for example, out West, you will 
see firsthand how interconnected the city is with its neighbor, Juarez. 
Mexico is literally on the other side of the international bridge. Each 
day at that single port of entry, an average of 20,000 people cross the 
border on foot legally--going to work, going to school, visiting 
friends and family, or shopping. That is in addition to the 35,000 car 
crossings and the 2,500 cargo trucks that cross each day just at the El 
Paso port of entry.
  I often compare the United States and Mexico to an old married couple 
who have occasional differences but who can't get divorced. We depend 
on one another, and we depend on a safe, secure, and efficient border 
to allow both countries to live in harmony.
  Not everyone or everything attempting to cross the border is in our 
country's best interest. Transnational criminals, drug smugglers, and 
human traffickers try to take advantage of any opportunity, any gaps in 
our border, and they use it to infiltrate, threaten, and endanger our 
communities.
  For too long, our frontline officers and agents haven't had the tools 
and resources they need to do their job. Whether it is outdated 
infrastructure, personnel shortages, or technology, the fact remains 
that we need additional border security funding to empower these hard-
working officers and agents to complete their mission at both our ports 
of entry and between those ports of entry.
  After talking to the experts--Border Patrol officials in Texas, as 
well as local stakeholders--I introduced legislation in the fall of 
2017 to address a number of their concerns. That legislation, called 
the Building America's Trust Act, would have authorized approximately 
$15 billion over 4 years for a long-term border security and interior 
enforcement strategy. Notably, the bill provided a great deal of 
discretion to the Department of Homeland Security's experts on the 
ground to determine what tactics were needed and where.
  As my friend Manuel Padilla, former Chief of the Border Patrol's Rio 
Grande Valley Sector, once told me--he said: The answer to border 
security from the Border Patrol's perspective is finding the right 
balance of three things: personnel, technology, and infrastructure.
  The landscape along the U.S.-Mexico border--particularly the 1,200 
miles of common border between Mexico and Texas--the geography varies 
significantly, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution to border 
security. That is why it is important to listen and learn from law 
enforcement and key stakeholders how to adapt the right mix to each 
area. That way, we can ensure we are deploying the most effective and 
practical solutions to achieve operational control along the southern 
border.
  Yes, we need physical infrastructure in places--a fence, a wall, a 
vehicle barrier, for example--because the hard-working agents and 
officers on the ground tell us that it works, and we would benefit from 
more of it. But we also need personnel to enforce the laws along the 
border and ensure our ports of entry are operating efficiently. And, 
yes, we need technology, things like scanners to scan for drugs that 
are embedded in shipments that come across the border. We need drones, 
radar, and sensors to help maximize border security, as well as access 
to the Rio Grande for Border Patrol agents so they can police the 
border for illegal entry.
  This shouldn't be a partisan debate, and historically, our 
differences on this topic have not been so polarizing. I think the 
nature of our political system today makes it easy to forget that not 
too long ago, border security was something supported by both political 
parties.
  In 2006, the Senate passed the Secure Fence Act by a vote of 80 to 
19. That is what I would call a bipartisan victory. Among those who 
voted for that bill include many current and former leaders of the 
Democratic Party, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, then-Senator 
Barack Obama, and then-Senator Hillary Clinton. They didn't believe 
that fences and walls and physical barriers were immoral, as apparently 
the current Speaker of the House of Representatives does. Not only did 
that legislation call for more than 800 miles of fencing along the 
U.S.-Mexico border, it also authorized the other important components 
of border security that I talked about, things like technology and 
personnel. That was in the 2006.
  In 2013, more recently, all 54 Democratic Senators voted for $46 
billion in border security--every single one--and now President Trump's 
request for $5 billion is somehow a nonstarter.
  The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration 
Modernization Act provided funding for, yes, infrastructure, personnel, 
and technology. That is exactly the right mix that Chief Padilla 
mentioned, which I referred to a moment ago. These are really the same 
types of issues we are talking about today. These are not radical 
ideas. We need a sensible combination of physical barriers, technology, 
and personnel.
  My Democratic colleagues supported border security during the Bush 
administration. They supported border security during the Obama 
administration. Now I urge them to come to the table with a serious 
proposal to help secure our border and end this standoff and to stop 
the foolishness and the political games.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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