Congressional Record, Volume 165 Issue 8 (Tuesday, January 15, 2019)

[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 15, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H587-H594]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

THE CRISIS AT THE BORDER

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of
January 3, 2019, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) is
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I rise to speak about the crisis at the
border, what is happening now, and what we can expect if we don't
resolve this issue.
I can't help but comment on a few things that my good friend, the
gentleman from California, said. And just in case he wasn't paying
attention, we are talking about 234 miles of border security fencing or
wall or barrier of some sort as enumerated by the Secretary of Homeland
Security--not the President; the Secretary of Homeland Security.
So when he says it is unspecified where it will be and what it will
be, it is very closely and very particularly specified by the
Secretary, not by the President, and it is the 10 worst sites along the
border where there is no barrier now.

[[Page H588]]

Let's get on with the other business of the afternoon.
Madam Speaker, I am here this afternoon with nearly a dozen of my
colleagues in the House Freedom Caucus who will lay out the case, with
specifics, for the President's policies on border security, which are
aimed at keeping America safe and enforcing our laws. These are for
America's policies.
The government has been shut down for the longest period in modern
history. It is shut down over the topic of border security and whether
to fund the construction of a border wall on points along our southern
border.
Right now, our immigration is our single greatest policy failure, a
failure that is a manufactured one. It was created from political
cowardice, short-termism, and self-interest, but it is a moral, legal,
and human catastrophe of epic proportions.
The President is fighting to fix it, and the Freedom Caucus is
fighting to fix it right alongside him. Squarely in our way is a party
gripped by denial, their political equivalent of hear no evil and see
no evil.
We learned as children that putting your head in the sand doesn't
change the reality of the situation, the facts are facts. They don't
have a political position. It is not about how we feel or what we wish
the facts are. They are what they are.
Let me quote a recent Vox article, a publication, mind you, that is
no friend to conservatives or the Trump Administration:

Hundreds, or even thousands, of migrant families are set to
be released from government detention along the U.S.-Mexico
border over the next several days. But while the mass release
of families may cheer critics of the Trump administration's
treatment of immigrant families, the government's new plan
will probably lead to hundreds of families getting dropped
off en masse at bus stations--literally out in the cold.

Now the U.S. Border Patrol is so jammed that it had to release these
illegal aliens at a Greyhound station on Christmas Eve. And that is not
the Border Patrol's fault; it is an activist judge in California who
said that Customs and Border Protection must release these individuals.
But there is nowhere for these families to go. Charities at the border
are full. Detention facilities at the border are full.
Some more quotes from the same article:

But over the summer and fall of 2018, it has become clear
that there really is a crisis at the border--because more
families are coming to more places than U.S. officials have
ever been capable of dealing with.
During the peak of unauthorized migration into the U.S.
circa 2000, the overwhelming majority of migrants were single
men; only 10 percent of Border Patrol apprehensions were
families or unaccompanied children.
In November 2018, 57 percent were families or children.
More families crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without
documentation in November of 2018 than in many months since
Department of Homeland Security started tracking family
apprehension separately. More children and families crossed
in November 2018 than crossed during the peak of the ``border
crisis'' in June of 2014.

This is Vox, mind you. This is analysis from a liberal publication.
Let me repeat the line.

But over the summer and fall of 2018, it has become clear
that there really is a crisis at the border.

Again, this is from Vox.
Now, let me quote the Washington Post, as you know, another great fan
of our President. This is an article from January 5:

In recent weeks, so many parents with children have been
among the 2,000 unauthorized migrants who are being taken
into Federal custody each day that authorities have resorted
to mass releases of families onto the streets of El Paso and
other border cities. U.S. agents are bringing dozens of
migrants, coughing and feverish, each day to clinics and
hospitals after stays in jam-packed holding cells where
children sleep on concrete floors and huddle in plastic
sheets for warmth.

If this isn't a crisis, can someone tell me what is?
To all reporters hyperventilating in TV studios who fact-check the
Freedom Caucus and the President, I am sure it is not a crisis; but to
these print reporters at Vox and The Washington Post who did their jobs
and reported the news, this is a crisis.
The agency tasked with basic Federal responsibility in this
situation, Customs and Border Protection, lacks the resources to do its
job humanely and effectively. They lack the legal resources. They lack
the financial resources.
This is the current status quo. This is why we are here. This is why
nothing is happening in Washington, D.C., about ending this shutdown,
because some folks on the other side of the aisle, in both this body
and the one across the Capitol, refuse to deal with the lack of
resources.
I ask my Democratic colleagues: Is this what you support, this status
quo? Do you support leaving illegal foreign nationals, human beings, on
the streets of the United States at bus stations and by the side of the
road?

{time} 1700

Do you support incentivizing them to journey through one of the
highest intensity drug trafficking zones in the world, where all manner
of horrific things occur? Do you believe this is moral? I don't.
Neither does the President, who requested another $5 billion for
detention beds so we can protect our borders and the illegal aliens who
violate them. It is in writing in this letter from Director Vought at
OMB, which I will include in the Record.

Executive Office of the President, Office of Management
and Budget,
Washington, DC, January 6, 2019.
Hon. Richard Shelby,
Chairman, Committee on Appropriations,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The President continues to stress the
need to pass legislation that will both reopen the Federal
Government and address the security and humanitarian crisis
at our Nation's Southwest border. The Administration has
previously transmitted budget proposals that would support
his ongoing commitment to dramatically reduce the entry of
illegal immigrants, criminals, and drugs; keep out
terrorists, public safety threats, and those otherwise
inadmissible under U.S. law; and ensure that those who do
enter without legal permission can be promptly and safely
returned home.
Appropriations bills for fiscal year (FY) 2019 that have
already been considered by the current and previous
Congresses are inadequate to fully address these critical
issues. Any agreement for the current year should satisfy the
following priorities:
Border Wall, Customs and Border Protection (CBP): The
President requests $5.7 billion for construction of a steel
barrier for the Southwest border. Central to any strategy to
achieve operational control along the southern border is
physical infrastructure to provide requisite impedance and
denial. In short, a physical barrier--wall--creates an
enduring capability that helps field personnel stop, slow
down and/or contain illegal entries. In concert with the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, CBP has increased its capacity to
execute these funds. The Administration's full request would
fund construction of a total of approximately 234 miles of
new physical barrier and fully fund the top 10 priorities in
CBP's Border Security Improvement Plan. This would require an
increase of $4.1 billion over the FY 2019 funding level in
the Senate version of the bill.
Immigration Judge Teams--Executive Office for Immigration
Review (EOIR): The President requests at least $563 million
for 75 additional Immigration Judges and support staff to
reduce the backlog of pending immigration cases. The
Administration appreciates that the Senate's FY 2019 bill
provides this level of funding, and looks forward to working
with the Congress on further increases in this area to
facilitate an expansion of in-country processing of asylum
claims.
Law Enforcement Personnel, Border Patrol Agent Hiring, CBP:
The President requests $211 million to hire 750 additional
Border Patrol Agents in support of his promise to keep our
borders safe and secure. While the Senate's FY 2019 bill
supports some Border Patrol Agent hiring, fulfilling this
request requires an increase of $100 million over the FY 2019
funding level in the Senate version of the bill.
Law Enforcement Personnel, Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE): The President requests $571 million for
2,000 additional law enforcement personnel, as well as
support staff, who enforce our U.S. immigration laws and help
address gang violence, smuggling and trafficking, and the
spread of drugs in our communities. This would require an
increase of $571 million over the FY 2019 funding level in
the Senate version of the bill.
Detention Beds, ICE: The President requests $4.2 billion to
support 52,000 detention beds. Given that in recent months,
the number of people attempting to cross the border illegally
has risen to 2,000 per day, providing additional resources
for detention and transportation is essential. This would
require an increase of $798 million over the FY 2019 funding
level in the Senate version of the bill.
Humanitarian Needs: The President requests an additional
$800 million to address urgent humanitarian needs. This
includes additional funding for enhanced medical support,
transportation, consumable supplies appropriate for the
population, and additional temporary facilities for
processing and short-term custody of this vulnerable

[[Page H589]]

population, which are necessary to ensure the well-being of
those taken into custody.
Counter-narcotics/weapons Technology: Beyond these specific
budgetary requests, the Administration looks forward to
working with Congress to provide resources in other areas to
address the unprecedented challenges we face along the
Southwest border. Specifically, $675 million would provide
Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology at inbound lanes at
U.S. Southwest Border Land Ports of Entry (LPOE) would allow
CBP to deter and detect more contraband, including narcotics,
weapons, and other materials that pose nuclear and
radiological threats. This would require an increase of $631
million over the FY 2019 funding level in the Senate version
of the bill.
In addition, to address the humanitarian crisis of
unaccompanied alien children (UACs), Democrats have proposed
in-country asylum processing for Central American Minors.
This would require a statutory change, along with
reallocation of State Department funds to establish in-
country processing capacities at Northern Triangle consulates
and embassies. Furthermore, for the new procedure to achieve
the desired humanitarian result, a further corresponding
statutory change would be required to ensure that those who
circumvent the process and come to the United States without
authorization can be promptly returned home. Without the
latter change, in-country processing will not reduce the
unauthorized flow or successfully mitigate the humanitarian
crisis.''
These upfront investments in physical barriers and
technology, as well as legislation to close loopholes in our
immigration system, will reduce illegal immigration, the flow
of illicit drugs entering our country and reduce the long
term costs for border and immigration enforcement activities.
The Administration looks forward to advancing these
critical priorities as part of legislation to reopen the
Government.
Sincerely,
Russell T. Vought,
Acting Director.

Mr. PERRY. The President has asked for $800 million for things like
medical care for these migrants, for transportation, for meals, and for
short-term custody facilities to deal with the inflow of illegal aliens
our laws have caused.
He has asked for 57 new immigration judge teams to process these
people, hear claims with merit, and deal with claims that do not.
And, yes, he asked for the wall to cover the 10 worst sites, as
described by the Department of Homeland Security, to prevent entrants
from pouring across the border, especially in the dead of winter and
the extreme heat of summer.
These are rational measures, and they are humanitarian measures.
The cheap and disingenuous moralism of the Democrats in Congress has
brought us to this point. They have opposed every one of these
proposals to improve this system, not only in this Congress, but in
every Congress before. This is the same posturing that is worsening
this crisis, and I will say it again: This is a crisis.
Now, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have a clear
choice to make. They can bow to the demands of their radical base that
believes there is no difference or distinction between citizen and
noncitizen, or they can come to the table to work with the President,
which is our job; to protect the vulnerable, including the 30 percent
of women who are sexually assaulted on the trek to the U.S.-Mexican
border, the children who are preyed upon by human trafficking rings,
and the innocent who are trying to make a better life for themselves
but live in fear of the drug cartels and many others; to protect our
borders; and to protect American citizens.
They can provide Immigration and Customs Enforcement the tools, legal
and financial, to do its job.
What is not up for debate is whether the children shivering on the
floor because we can't house them is a crisis. That is the bottom line
here.
Even worse, American families are losing loved ones at the hands of
illegal foreign nationals under preventable circumstances--preventable,
completely preventable.
Earlier today, we heard from Angel Moms, a sister and a brother,
American citizens who lost loved ones because we aren't enforcing our
immigration laws. This is completely and wholly unacceptable.
We are a compassionate nation and a nation of laws, but the same laws
apply to all of us. It is not this law for some and this law for
others. We cannot allow ideology to prevent us from addressing the
crisis. The situation is too dire for these people at risk, and the
situation for America is critical.
Tonight, the House Freedom Caucus stands with the President, and I am
proud to stand with my colleagues to make the case to the American
people.
Madam Speaker, we will next hear from Mr. Chip Roy on the
effectiveness of walls, and then we will hear from Mr. Brooks from
Alabama on the danger of these uncontrolled border policies to
Americans, followed by Mr. Biggs from Arizona on what it is like to
live in an unsecured border because he lives in Arizona.
We will hear from Mr. Hice on opioids and the way our porous borders
contribute to that crisis that is affecting every single town in the
country.
We will hear from Mr. Griffith. We will also hear from Mr. Yoho; Mr.
Meadows, our great chairman, the gentleman from North Carolina; as well
as Mr. Cloud from Texas.
This evening, we are going to get beyond the talking points and
specifically lay out our case.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).
Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for
yielding.
Madam Speaker, as a proud Texan, I am proud to give my first remarks
on the floor of the United States House of Representatives today on the
important issue of border security, critical to my district and
critical to the State of Texas and our Nation.
Hundreds of thousands of people seek to come to this country, both
legally and illegally, each year. They are drawn to the hope of the
greatest free society the world has ever known. But we are in danger of
losing that which separates us from the other nations of the world, the
rule of law. Nowhere is that more pronounced than the chaos and the
lawlessness of our southern border.
Freedom cannot flourish in chaos. Prosperity cannot emerge from fear.
Yet, we have failed to secure our Nation because Members on both sides
of the aisle have buried their heads in the sand over the last several
decades, talking instead of doing. Americans are weary of our opinions
and ready to see us do the job we were sent here to do.
This isn't about numbers or statistics. It is about people. It is
about Jared Vargas, a vibrant young college student studying computer
science with dreams of working in the cybersecurity field. His life was
cut tragically short when he was brutally murdered by an illegal alien
in San Antonio last June.
Jared's mother, Lori; his twin brother; and his younger sister don't
care if I personally believe fences would be more effective than
drones, or vice versa. And they don't care if one of my colleagues
believes that 2,028 homicide charges against illegal aliens in 2018 is
not enough to justify a border wall. For them, one matters enough.
The Vargas family does care that Jared's murderer had been in ICE
custody twice and had been arrested for a DWI and released just a month
before he killed Jared.
This current debate before us has a face. It has a name. That name is
Jared. And his family wants justice for Jared.
But it is also about the little girl who, today, will be exploited by
drug cartels who know that sex trafficking can be more lucrative than
trafficking drugs.
It is about the young woman in Central America who saves money and
pays every last dime she has to someone who promises to take her to a
better life in America, only to be forced into a shipping container.
She wakes up in Greece to find that she has been sold into the
sex trade, and there is no one around her who speaks her language.

According to Doctors Without Borders, roughly one-third of women
making their way across the border are victims of sexual assault. I am
old enough to remember, as a Senate lawyer, when Senator Tom Coburn
spoke on the Senate floor in 2007 about rape trees. I find it
unacceptable that today, a decade later, the border is littered with
the clothes of new victims because we have failed to do anything as a
body, as a Congress.
In my visits to the border, one thing is clear: Dangerous cartels are
calling the shots. I was talking to a Border Patrol agent last summer.
He said:

I am down here at night. I am by myself. I have no cell, no
radio. I can't see the river

[[Page H590]]

through the thick cane. I can't drive along the river. And
the cartels have operational control of the border.

That is what we are sending our guys down on the river, in the Rio
Grande, to do to defend this Nation.
So it is time for us to put partisanship aside and secure our border.
Fences, cameras, radios, cell phones, more Border Patrol agents,
additional immigration judges, cleared cane, navigable roads along the
river, we need all these tools.
To be clear, that is what is in the President's plan. That is what we
are fighting to get. To be clear again, fences are a vital and
necessary part of that security.
It is absurd for anyone to argue that fences do not work, take your
pick of an example throughout history, from the walls around medieval
fortresses to the fencing around the White House and our military
installations today.
Ask a tort lawyer whether leaving your pool open, monitored by
drones, will save you from liability if a child falls in your pool.
The truth is, fences have worked since the dawn of time. Currently,
we have 46 miles of reinforced fencing along the San Diego sector of
the border. Before construction began in 1986, there were 630,000
arrests. Compare that to almost 32,000 arrests in 2016.
Fences work. Yet, 10 years ago, I heard members of the Senate
Judiciary Committee argue that fences don't work because migrants then
shifted from California to Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
Only in Washington is that logic passable. Fences don't work because
they worked? That may have been the first time, though it won't be the
last, that I heard someone say fencing is a 1st or 3rd or 18th century
solution for a 21st century problem.
But in El Paso, in Yuma, in Tucson, in Israel, fencing was put in
place, and we have seen reductions of up to 90 percent or more in
illegal crossings.
This body has repeatedly authorized foreign assistance to our allies
to help them secure their borders. But, at the same time, the House is
crippled with inaction at securing our own.
We have repeatedly authorized fencing for the United States of
America, but we are here today trying to actually get it funded and get
it built. It is time to stop posturing about things that everybody in
America knows.
In Texas, let's stop talking. Let's go down to Brownsville. Let's
start building the fence where we need it and work our way up the
river.
To my colleague who was speaking early about, well, where is the
fence going to go? If we face an obstacle, let's discuss it. If a
rancher needs access to water, we consider leaving an opening, post a
guard, put up a camera, and then continue moving up the river.
Let's work together for one simple goal. The United States of America
should have operational control over its borders, not dangerous
cartels.
Many on both sides of the aisle like to pretend that we shouldn't
build a fence because it might be possible to go over or under it. Of
course, that is possible, but that is not a reason not to build a
fence.
The fundamental question is this: Are we more secure with agents and
drones, or are we more secure with agents, drones, and fences?
This is not a partisan issue; it is a humanitarian crisis. It is time
for us to stop bickering or hiding behind excuses and secure the border
now.
It is time for America to reclaim operational control of its border,
pay Federal workers who are doing their job, and make America secure
again.
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina
(Mr. Meadows), the chairman of the Freedom Caucus.
Mr. MEADOWS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania
for his leadership.
Madam Speaker, I rise today because we have just heard, an hour
before we came on the House floor, more debate about opening the
government than we actually have had people negotiate to actually open
the government.
You know, there are all kinds of reasons why everyone is saying that
the government is shut down, but the biggest reason is because no one
is willing to negotiate on the other side of the aisle.
I can tell you, the President, 16 blocks from here, was sitting here
over Christmas and over New Year's, and, indeed, he was sitting here
last weekend when 30 of my colleagues from across the aisle went to
Puerto Rico on a junket with lobbyists to talk about how important the
government shutdown must be to them.
Well, I can tell you that the biggest fallacy in all of this is that
all the perils that my colleagues opposite seem to demonstrate, and the
urgency that is there, I haven't seen the urgency.
We come in; we get sworn in; and what happens? They go home. The
second weekend, what happens? They go to Puerto Rico.
Even today, while the President invites Democrat colleagues to go 16
blocks from here and negotiate on how we may solve this, what do they
do? They turn down the President.
Now, I can tell you, Madam Speaker, that there are a lot of things
that are said on this particular House floor, but none more appropriate
than today when we have our colleagues who were suggesting that this is
easy to fix. They are exactly right. It is easy to fix. All we have to
do is provide a little funding for border security and build a wall,
because what we have at stake are the lives of innocent people.

Madam Speaker, I looked in the face of moms today who had lost their
kids. It truly broke my heart to think that, here we are debating this
issue, and yet, for some reason, my colleagues opposite won't give a
single dime.
Let's find a single Democrat who is willing to give any amount of
money to border barriers, and let's have a negotiation.
But you know what? You can't find them. You can't find them, not
because they are in Puerto Rico. You can't find them because they have
built a wall between them and fair compromise.
So, Madam Speaker, I am here today to suggest that we are here
willing to negotiate. We are here willing to open back up the
government, but not until the Democrats are willing to meet us halfway.
I can tell you, this President stands ready to make a deal, but,
quite frankly, it has been only one side of the equation willing to
negotiate.
I thank the gentleman for his leadership. I thank all my colleagues
for being willing to stand up.
Let's get this done right. Let's secure the border once and for all.
And let's, indeed, make America safe again.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr.
Brooks).

{time} 1715

Mr. BROOKS of Alabama. Madam Speaker, in 2018, more than 2,000
illegal aliens were apprehended by Federal law enforcement officers for
homicides committed on American soil; that is roughly 2,000 dead in
just 1 year. And that does not count some number of the 70,000
Americans whose lives are snuffed out each year by poisonous drugs,
much of which is shipped illegally into America across our porous
southern border.
Americans would know more about these horrific killings if the media
diverted just a fraction of the time it spends on extolling illegal
aliens and attacking our brave border patrol and ICE officers and
agents to telling the stories of American lives needlessly ended by
illegal aliens and our porous southern border.
Today I share a few stories about those who died solely because of
illegal aliens and our porous southern border.
Louise Sollowin was a beloved mother, wife, and grandmother. Louise
spent 50 years helping her sister fire up the oven at Omaha,
Nebraska's, Orsi's Italian Bakery, where she worked well into her 80s.
In 2013, after 93 years of life, Louise was brutally raped and beaten
to death by an illegal alien. To make matters even more horrific,
Louise's daughter found her bleeding, battered, and dying mother with a
naked illegal alien passed out on top of her.
In 2010 in Houston, Texas, 14-year-old Shatavia Anderson was shot in
the chest and killed by two illegal aliens. Shatavia loved her family
and loved talking on the phone. She proclaimed that one day she was
``gonna be somebody.'' Shatavia was robbed of that dream by illegal
aliens.
In July 2018 in my hometown of Huntsville, Alabama, two drug-cartel
related illegal aliens took Oralia Mendoza and her 13-year-old
granddaughter, Mariah Lopez, from their

[[Page H591]]

home in the dark of night. Oralia was stabbed to death while her
teenage granddaughter, Mariah, was forced to watch. Later, and in order
to eliminate a witness, the illegal alien drug cartel members then
beheaded Mariah and abandoned her body in the woods not far from where
I live. Mariah's decaying body was not found for weeks. Mariah was a
special needs student at Challenger Middle School. Her teachers
described her as a ``sweet little girl'' who ``had a lot of friends.''
I have a Washington staff member, Michaila Lindow, who well remembers
being baby-sat as a young child by family friend, Tad Mattle. In 2009
in Huntsville, Alabama, then 19-year-old Tad Mattle was driving home
with his girlfriend from a church social. While stopped at a traffic
light, an illegal alien, who was fleeing the scene of yet another crime
and whose blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit, rear-
ended Tad Mattle's car. This illegal alien had three prior DUIs. Tad
Mattle's car exploded on impact, tragically killing Tad Mattle and his
girlfriend. Tad, the oldest of three children, enjoyed making music and
served as percussion leader in the Grissom High School marching band.
Three days before he was killed, Tad was awarded a full scholarship to
the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where he planned to pursue an
engineering degree.
Mr. Speaker, each of these horrific deaths have one thing in common:
none of these lives would have been stolen from us, but for illegal
aliens aided and abetted by Democrats who protect, promote, and prefer
the lives of illegal aliens to the lives of American citizens.
Mr. Speaker, these killings on American soil will continue if America
does not secure our porous southern border.
As for those who support amnesty and open borders, how many American
lives and dreams must be snuffed out by illegal aliens before
Washington has the guts and integrity to secure our porous southern
border? How many Americans, dead Americans, does it take before you
will start saving lives rather than aiding and abetting those illegal
aliens who take them?
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Alabama and
yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Hice).
Mr. HICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend, the
gentleman from Pennsylvania, for his leadership on this.
I am honored to be a part of this group dealing with a problem that
we all know is a reality and yet so few seem to be willing to do
anything about.
We have thousands of new aliens entering our country every day, and
this surge of illegal immigrants flooding across our porous borders
puts our Nation at risk in more ways than one.
In 2017 alone, more than 900 Americans died every week from the
opioid-related crisis and overdoses. Every American, everyone in this
chamber knows personally someone who has been affected by this, be it a
family member, a friend, a coworker, a neighbor, where the opioid
crisis has penetrated into these lives. And its advancement continues
to march down the streets of our Nation.
The story of the opioid epidemic certainly begins many times with
prescription pain medications, pharmaceutical companies, pill mills,
overprescribing, many of these kinds of ways, but today we see the
opioid crisis being driven by the widespread availability of cheap,
powerful drugs like heroin, often laced with synthetic opioids like
fentanyl.
Make no mistake about it: this is a human tragedy. It is a family
tragedy. It is a national tragedy. It is a national crisis that we are
facing right now, largely because of loopholes that we have in our
immigration laws, but also unquestionably because of the physical
barriers that don't exist. As a result, we have illegals continuing to
storm into our country and bring with them all sorts of illegal
activity.
Earlier today, I stood alongside my colleagues and met many angel
families who have been so personally impacted, have lost loved ones
because of our deeply flawed immigration policies and so forth.
One in particular I met today Susan Stevens. Susan had a daughter,
Victoria, who 1 year ago next week lost her life. She was a
cheerleader, she was an artist. She was a vibrant young lady whose life
was taken from this world largely because of our inability to deal with
and stop the smuggling of illegal drugs coming into our country and to
secure our border.

We have all heard the statistics. Nearly 90 percent of heroin coming
into our country comes into our country from the southern border, 90
percent. Sadly, stories like Victoria Stevens' are becoming all too
common; we are hearing these stories on a daily basis.
I am stunned when my colleagues on the other side look at the
President's cry at this national crisis at our border as some sort of
political stunt. This is no political stunt. This is reality.
Two weeks ago we all watched as Speaker Pelosi jokingly made the
claim that she would be willing to give a single dollar to secure our
border. I would remind the Speaker, this is no joking matter and this
is no laughing matter. These are real lives. This is a Nation that is
being impacted by her refusal to deal with the issue at hand.
This country ought to be a safe haven for law-abiding citizens, but
instead we are watching communities that have become vulnerable and
susceptible to crime.
How many more families need to lose loved ones before we take action?
How many more families will no longer hear the laugh of their child
because we are not taking action right here, before we secure our
borders? What is it going to take? The Mexican cartels are a cunning
enemy, and yet Democrats refuse to acknowledge the situation. They call
it a manufactured crisis.
I guarantee you, had they been there today with these angel families,
they would not have left saying this is a manufactured crisis. They
would have been pricked to the heart of the reality of what we are
facing in this country.
And yet they refuse to come to the table. They refuse to come with
real solutions. They refuse to compromise at all.
Instead, as has already been mentioned, this past weekend they go to
Puerto Rico on a virtual vacation while hundreds of thousands of
American workers are losing their paychecks, being held by Democrats
off on a vacation at an island getaway.
The Democrat playbook is nothing but obstruct at all costs. And,
again, this was played out today while the President invites them to
the White House, and they refuse to show up yet again, showing what
they are really made of. And they refuse to deal with our borders.
More than 49,000 Americans died last year from heroin and opioid-
related overdoses, and yet the Democrats, with their open border
policies, refuse to deal with this situation.
I am convinced that they are becoming accomplices in the countless
deaths yet to come by their refusal to deal with the dangerous drugs,
illegal activities, and our broken borders.
This is precisely why we must deal with the President's request for a
border wall and to do so immediately. The consequences are too dire. We
cannot continue to wait.
We are here today committed to ensure the integrity of our borders
and the safety of the American people through the building of the wall
on our southern border. We are here today fighting for the families of
the victims who want a reasonable immigration system to protect our
children and our grandchildren.
Tackling this immigration problem and protecting American families
from criminal aliens is a fundamental responsibility and duty that we
all have, and I am honored to stand with my colleagues to press this
issue and to call the Democrats to come to the table and deal with the
issue.
Madam Speaker, again, I thank my friend; I appreciate so much the
time.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I yield to the
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan).
Mr. JORDAN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
Madam Speaker, you know why we can't get a deal on the border
security wall? You know why we can't get a deal? Because today's left
has taken the most radical positions in American history.
They applaud Kaepernick when he disrespects the flag, they embrace
Governor Cuomo when he says America

[[Page H592]]

was never that great, and they cheer on Maxine Waters when she says go
out and harass anyone who supports the President.
Today's left thinks that America is just another country, just one of
the 190-some countries on the planet.
Madam Speaker, the United States of America is not just another
country. It is the greatest Nation in history that has done more good
for more people than any country ever; a special place, a special place
where people from all over the world, all shapes, all sizes, all
colors, all talents come to so they can chase down their goals, chase
down their dreams, make life better for themselves and their family.
That is this country: a special place, where people come and respect
the Constitution, cherish the Bill of Rights, and embrace the rule of
law.
But today's left, specifically on this issue, Democrat Congressman
Blumenauer said, abolish ICE; Secretary Clinton, when she was running
for the highest office in the land, said we need a borderless
hemisphere; Speaker Pelosi said walls are immoral. And just last week,
Stacey Abrams, Governor candidate from the State of Georgia, said
noncitizens should be able to vote. Think about that: noncitizens
should be able to vote.
Americans believe, Republicans believe, the House Freedom Caucus
believes that borders need to be strong. Americans believe, we believe
that there is a difference, a big difference, between legal immigration
and illegal immigration. And Americans and Republicans and the House
Freedom Caucus believe that a border security wall will help stop the
drug problem, the gang problem, and the human trafficking problem.

{time} 1730

Mr. Speaker, this is not just a fight about a border security wall.
It is bigger than that. It is about those fundamental values, those
fundamental principles, that make us the greatest Nation in history.
The House Freedom Caucus and the House Republicans stand with our
President. We know there needs to be a border security wall. We know
this needs to happen to deal with all the things that have been talked
about.
That is why we are here. That is why this is important. That is why
this fight is so fundamental. And that is why it is important we stand
with the President of the United States and make sure it gets done.
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr.
Biggs).
Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Pennsylvania for
organizing this.
To be honest with you, I really can't believe we still have to have
this conversation. The idea that the United States of America should
turn a blind eye to protecting its national borders violates one of the
few responsibilities enumerated to the Federal Government in the
Constitution, the one we just swore an oath to just a couple weeks ago,
to ensure the security of our Nation and provide for its defense. How
can anyone argue that we are safer as a nation by not having any idea
who is entering our country today?
Unlike many Members of Congress, I was born and raised in southern
Arizona, mere miles to the Mexican border, not too far away, an hour or
so drive. I have met with Border Patrol agents and ranchers who live in
the region several times alone recently. There is no other way to put
this: The situation on the American side of the border is dire and
equally as grave on the other side.
For 8 years under the Obama administration, the Federal Government
effectively told Americans that their safety and their sovereignty were
not important. They told Border Patrol and ICE agents that the jobs
they were doing were essentially pointless, because the Obama
administration was going to find as many ways as possible to prevent
further border security and circumvent the immigration laws passed by
Congress, including reducing the pay of Border Patrol agents.
If the House Democrats have their way, they will continue down this
suboptimum, irresponsible path until it is simply too late.
I visited the 75-mile stretch of the border that crosses through one
of Arizona's Indian reservations. Along the way, the Border Patrol
agent who was guiding us pointed out drug shacks and lookouts that the
cartels use to alert smugglers of the Border Patrol's presence. It is
astounding, quite frankly.
Some will argue that there is fencing along many of those miles and
try to convince you that the area is secure and no fencing is
necessary. But let me tell you something, that is not true. The fencing
consists of a single strand of barbed wire. There might be some
Normandy barriers, those cross barriers, now and then, and there is
some pole fencing, all of which easily can be walked over or stepped
through. No one who has been there can argue with a straight face that
the ability to walk across the border with little effort can be called
secure.
On that same trip, I met with cattle ranchers near Nogales. Each of
those families has encountered multiple illegal aliens on their
property--in fact, on a regular basis. It is so grave that they set up
cameras so they could capture footage of the illegal traffic. I have
seen that footage; I have seen the videos. It is not groups of sweet
mothers and children coming across. It is groups of armed, young men,
with drugs strapped to their backs, 50-pound packages. They are wearing
carpet shoes to disguise their footprints in the dirt.
I recently spoke with a rancher along the border. He has told me that
he has been victimized by three home invasions and more than a dozen
burglaries, not counting the near constant trespasses that victimize
his family.
I am curious to know what the open border advocates think about that
kind of traffic. Should known drug smugglers have the freedom to
traipse across private property and come into America? These Americans
own their land, but the House Democrats see no reason to protect them
from this invasion.
To any Member of the Chamber who disagrees with border security, or
doesn't know how to describe it, including with a wall, how would you
feel about constant trespassing and vandalizing of your own property?
Don't you think the government should do something about it, or should
we just turn a blind eye?
During a more recent trip, I had lunch with about 15 rank-and-file
Border Patrol agents working in southern Arizona. These are the men and
women defending our borders every day. They are putting their lives on
the line, chasing after armed drug smugglers and being assaulted by
illegal aliens they encounter.
By the way, just a couple of weeks ago, there was one attacked who
had his face broken open by a rock after he was bitten and punched and
attacked. Let me tell you, it leads to low morale in the agency.
They are the only DHS law enforcement agency that received a pay cut
under the previous administration, and we can't fund them back yet. I
don't understand that.
When they hear Members of Congress condemn the work they are doing
and advocating instead for lawlessness and open borders, these agents
have little incentive or motivation to continue fighting for our
Nation's security.
This morning, I stood, like others have mentioned, with Angel
Families who have lost loved ones. Two of them are in my district, the
families of Brandon Mendoza and Grant Ronnebeck. They have suffered
unjust harms. They have lost their children.
When I hear the gentleman from California say, oh, we can't get to
the Smithsonian museum, well, for these people, their children will
never get to the Smithsonian museum. They will mourn, and they do
grieve. I am thankful for them standing up.
I will just tell you, ladies and gentlemen, there is a crisis on the
border. We must deal with this with courage.

I call on my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to quit being
obstructionists. We have to fund a border wall and the border security
asked for.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr.
Griffith).
Mr. GRIFFITH. Madam Speaker, ``Facts are stubborn things; and
whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our
passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.''
John Adams made that statement almost 250 years ago. I recall his
words

[[Page H593]]

when House Speaker Pelosi, in arguing against more funding for security
at the southern border, claimed that President Trump was
``manufacturing a crisis.''
The facts on the border establish that a crisis exists. According to
the Department of Homeland Security data, 161,000 family units arrived
in fiscal year 2018, an increase of 50 percent, and 60,000
unaccompanied children arrived in the same time period, an increase of
25 percent. Asylum claims have surged an astounding 2,000 percent in
the past 5 years, although most of these claims will be found invalid
later, after judicial review.
These surging numbers are overwhelming our resources on the border
and creating a humanitarian, security, and legal crisis.
The Mexican side of the border is often controlled by Mexican
criminal cartels or gangs. They charge a fee to assist border
crossings. To get here, many illegal immigrants put themselves in the
hands of these vicious smuggling gangs, which are looking for profit
and are uninterested in basic human dignity.
On the dangerous journey to the border, 7 out of 10 migrants suffer
from violence, and 31 percent of women and 17 percent of men are
sexually assaulted. Too often, the fees these gangs charge are
indentured servitude in the sex trade. Porous borders only encourage
more business for the criminal gangs who commit these abuses.
Further, more than people are being brought across the border, as you
have heard. Increased amounts of illicit substances are entering as
well. Meth, trafficked across the border by these cartels into places
across the country, including my district in southwest Virginia,
increased by 38 percent from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2018. That
same period saw a 22 percent increase in heroin and an astonishing 73
percent increase in fentanyl.
Even when current security measures intercept people crossing the
border illegally, there isn't enough room in facilities to detain these
individuals until a judicial hearing can be held. Accordingly, most
illegal immigrants are released with notice to appear at a hearing in
the future. By the time of the hearing, they have either disappeared
back into the clutches of the cartels or into the underground economy.
In my opinion, these facts classify the situation on the southern
border as a crisis.
President Trump has asked for $5.7 billion to build a barrier on the
southern border, and additional funding for personnel. What is more, he
is willing to negotiate with the Democrats in the House and in the
Senate. Congressional Republicans are also ready to compromise.
In contrast, Democrat leaders refuse to budge. They say they will
give no money for a wall. Speaker Pelosi even called a wall immoral.
Her views on a barrier's immorality may come as a surprise to many on
her side of the aisle. When Congress voted on the Secure Fence Act,
which provided for 700 miles of fencing in 2006, it received the
support of 64 Democrats in the House and 26 in the Senate, including
Chuck Schumer, now the Senate Democrat leader, and then-Senators Barack
Obama and Hillary Clinton.
Instead, she appears afraid to get to yes on a deal with the
President. Speaker Pelosi appears to be afraid to get to that deal.
Another objection she has raised to the wall is that illegal drugs
and other smuggled goods also come through our legal ports of entry
rather than across the border. President Trump responded by including
an additional $675 million to combat smuggling at the ports of entry.
Further, Democrats say the government should be reopened before they
can come to the table. But when debating immigration last summer, the
House Democrats never offered a compromise on a wall. When debating
spending bills this fall, House Democrats never offered to compromise
on a wall.
For 30 years, the American people have been promised a barrier on the
southern border. Particularly for the last 4 months when the government
was, in fact, open, the last 4 months of 2018, House Democrats didn't
offer a solution. Why should anyone believe now that, if the government
is reopened, they will suddenly find a way to compromise?
Reaching a compromise is difficult when one side doesn't admit there
is a problem. A porous border has caused a crisis.
I urge Speaker Pelosi to come to the table. Let's talk about ways to
secure the border, protect the American people, end the humanitarian
crisis, and reopen the government.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
Yoho).
Mr. YOHO. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for
yielding on such an important topic.
I am glad to be here tonight because I think it is important that we
go out and make our case to the American people and tell the truth,
which is not what you are going to hear in the media or from our
Democratic colleagues, as we have heard earlier today.
The government now has been shut down for 25 days, breaking the
record for the longest partial government shutdown in history. We would
like to express our empathy and concern for those affected, and may
this be resolved sooner than later.
Why has this been so long? Because Democrats refuse to come to the
table to negotiate a solution. Instead, they would rather bring up
messaging bills that don't fund vital programs. Also, they can say they
didn't support President Trump's border wall.

In fact, today, we passed a bill that passed in the House that we
passed last Congress. It was on hatred and hate speech and all that.
They won't address this issue. They want to walk away from this.
They don't want to support President Trump's border wall so they can
go to their constituents and say they won. This is all about the 2020
Presidential election. They aren't concerned about border security or
the security of the American people.
This is not a game. We are not talking about a game. We are talking
about the rule of law, security for the American people and our Nation.
This President has been confronted with an unprecedented degree of
obstruction from the Democratic Party. President Trump has asked the
Democratic leadership if they would negotiate over the wall if the
government was reopened. Speaker Pelosi said no. She has said over and
over again that walls are immoral and not one penny for a wall.
Ms. Pelosi, I am asking you, and the American people are asking you,
to do what is right: negotiate border security and pay our patriotic
workers who aren't getting paid.
This obstruction is unnecessary and hypocritical. How is funding for
border security unreasonable? The answer is that it isn't.

{time} 1745

Democrats have supported fences at the border in the past. In 2006,
over half the Democratic Senators, including Hillary Clinton, Chuck
Schumer, and Barack Obama, voted to build 700 miles of security fence;
138 Democratic House Members voted for that bill.
Democrats must realize the importance of border security but would
rather sacrifice security for political gamesmanship. This is a matter
of national security and can no longer be ignored.
On average, 2,000 inadmissible, illegal migrants arrive at our
southern border daily. That means, in the last 25 days, approximately
50,000 illegal migrants have sought entry at our border without going
through the proper channels. And there are proper channels.
I remain a strong supporter of border security and will continue to
defend the need for this essential funding. Our porous border and weak
enforcement laws have allowed for illegal immigrants to go unchecked.
Liberal cities and liberal States with liberal policies supported by
our liberal colleagues continually put Americans in jeopardy.
Just last night, three MS-13 gang members were picked up and arrested
for assault on a 16-year-old. Their ages were 20, 19, and 17. All three
were gang members of MS-13. Two of them had been previously released by
a Federal judge, and all confirmed that they came into this country in
2016 under President Obama's illegal DACA program.
If you talk to the Democrats, they tell you that $5.7 billion is too
much to

[[Page H594]]

pay for protection at our southern border; but what they won't tell you
is, if the U.S. were to grant amnesty or a path to citizenships for all
illegal aliens currently living in our country, it would cost an
estimated $2.6 trillion. That is an easy choice from the perspective of
$5.7 billion as the price to pay for our national security.
We are facing unprecedented obstructionism from the Democrats, and we
can't reward them by backing down. We can and will win if we continue
to fight.
When I talk to people in my district, when you can break down why are
we here, what our cause is, and what our principles are, they support
us. People on the border that are border security guards support us.
That is why I believe the Democrats will have to come to their senses
and negotiate as more and more Americans support our view from what you
have heard here today. I appreciate the Freedom Caucus for standing up
and pointing these things out.
Meanwhile, this shutdown wore on through the weekend, and I along
with my Republican colleagues stayed in town to end it, but the
Democrats chose, instead, to go to Puerto Rico to party with over 100
D.C. lobbyists while calling on non-U.S. citizens to be able to have
the right to vote, and they watched the play, ``Hamilton.''
It is no wonder we haven't been able to negotiate a deal with the
Democrats. They won't deal. In the face of their refusal to negotiate,
we don't have any choice. I and my colleagues are prepared to be here
through the weekend, every weekend, until we can put enough pressure on
the other party to be reasonable and come to a solution.
The right thing to do is to negotiate.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida, and I
now yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cloud).
Mr. CLOUD. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for
yielding.
This debate over securing our border has become a debate over the
morality of our efforts, and I welcome that debate. But if we are to
debate this issue of border security on the basis of morality, it is
fair for us not only to ask how this issue affects our own Nation, but
to look across our border and see how our national policy affects those
beyond our borders.
For those of us who live near our southern border, we understand all
too well the effects of the criminal cartels who profit from abusing
our Nation's generous immigration laws.
When I visited the Rio Grande Valley just recently, a rancher with
land on the border described the situation, saying that he finds dead
migrants on his land all the time.
In my hometown of Victoria, Texas, 19 migrants died of suffocation
and overheating after being trapped in the back of a trailer abandoned
by a smuggler with a callous disregard for human life.
But beyond our borders, these cartels carry an outsized influence in
Mexico and in developing nations in Central America. We know that
cartels profit from smuggling drugs and humans across the border. They
siphon oil from pipelines. They extort families and businesses and
kidnap for profit.
The barbarism of these criminal cartels has led to 150,000 homicides
in Mexico, alone, since 2006. They have worked their corrupting
influence into the halls of government and law enforcement, hindering
the people of these nations from developing and realizing the blessings
of liberty for themselves.
Our Federal Government's unwillingness to control our border allows
cartels to amass profits of tens of billions of dollars each year
smuggling drugs and humans into our country, with a devastating toll on
the most vulnerable in our Nation. Our lack of border security allows
these criminal cartels to wield their corrupting influence in a way
that makes positive change so difficult in these developing countries.
Unfortunately, like too many issues these days, border security has
become a divisive and a partisan issue when, historically, this has had
broad support. But there should be nothing partisan about ending a
humanitarian and criminal crisis that is driven by cartels and enabled
by our Federal Government's failure to act.
Congress has a responsibility to protect the citizens of our country
and to end the humanitarian crisis on our southern border, and it is
past time to reform our broken asylum system and secure the border.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for being
part of this discussion
Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Pennsylvania has 3
minutes remaining.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Gohmert).
Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, we hear that walls don't work, yet this
is a picture of the Democratic National Convention in 2016. They put up
a barrier. They put up a fence because they wanted to protect
themselves like people in America want to protect themselves.
And there is a lovely gate, wall. They have them everywhere there is
something that needs to be secured. Every single Democrat who is
standing against securing our border has an outer wall to their home.
If walls don't work, they can eliminate that. People can come and go
as they please. But they know deep down in their hearts, they secure
their dead bolts. They secure their home. They may even have a wall
around their outer wall because walls work.
Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Pennsylvania for yielding to
me.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr.
Gohmert) for sharing his thoughts on this topic.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Davidson).
Mr. DAVIDSON of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from
Pennsylvania for yielding.
Madam Speaker, our bodies should unite to stop the violent cartels
and drug lords who have taken advantage of the humanitarian national
security crisis on our southern border. Border security is national
security, and we need to be doing everything we can to secure our
southern border.
For years, our senior Border Patrol officials have made modest
requests for tactical barriers. The President's request prioritizes the
top 10 of 17 priority areas that Border Patrol wants to secure.
The men and women patrolling our borders put their lives on the line
every day to keep us safe from terrorism, drug trafficking, sex
trafficking, gunrunning, money laundering, and all sorts of dangerous
crimes. They routinely encounter some of the most dangerous criminals
and traffickers anywhere in the world.
They seize drugs that would have otherwise made it onto Ohio streets
where we are dealing with the tragedy of this opioid crisis that has
killed far too many of our friends and neighbors. They have also
arrested illegal aliens who were charged and convicted of crimes,
including sexual assault, kidnapping, and homicide. A significant
percentage of women and girls entering the country illegally are raped.
We should be giving our personnel on the border the resources they
need to get the job done. Nevertheless, millions of Americans want to
participate in this great cause. They have contributed private funds
and would like to give directly to our government.
That is why I introduced the Buy a Brick, Build the Wall Act, which
would allow the Treasury Department to help fund this wall and make
sure the resources go to the cause that so many people support. We need
to unite and secure our border.
Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

____________________