[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 13, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1813-S1815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, the news cycle is relentless here in 
Washington, DC, and between cable TV and social media, it is pretty 
hard to remember what happened an hour or a day or a week ago, but it 
is important to talk about the context surrounding today's 
circumstances, and that is why I wanted to come talk a little bit more 
about what is happening on our southern border.
  Twelve hundred miles of Texas is common border with Mexico, and we 
are at ground zero when it comes to what comes across the border and 
what happens at the border. Frankly, it is a lot more complicated than 
most people seem to appreciate, at least by the way they talk about it.
  Not only is the border a source of economic energy for our country, 
by trade and legitimate travel, we know our border communities 
themselves are among the safest in the country. Their crime statistics 
are basically equivalent to that of any other comparable city in any 
other part of the country, but what happens across the border is a very 
different story.
  Some of the most dangerous cities in Mexico are right there along the 
border, primarily because they are still controlled by the cartels that 
operate what are called plazas where they essentially take tolls or 
shake down people who are trying to come across for whatever purpose it 
might be, whether it is people coming across to find a job in the 
United States or drug traffickers or human traffickers--people selling 
women and children for sex or human servitude.
  So it is a complicated scenario, to be sure, but one thing I can tell 
you is, there is a humanitarian crisis at the border that was not 
manufactured by the Trump administration. In fact, the denial in which 
a lot of our Democratic colleagues find themselves I think is more 
related to the fact that President Trump is the one currently 
identifying it rather than the facts on the ground because, in 2014, 
President Obama called what was happening at the border a humanitarian 
crisis, and that did not seem to be a controversial comment at the 
time, but now that President Trump is calling this a crisis and 
emergency, people, unfortunately, can't take off their partisan jersey, 
and many call it a fake emergency or fake crisis, which is demonstrably 
false.
  Let's go back to 2014. That year, about 68,000 families were 
apprehended at the southern border, an overwhelming number. This, 
coupled with an unprecedented surge of unaccompanied children, led 
President Obama, as I mentioned, to call this a ``growing humanitarian 
and security crisis.'' That was President Obama. He was right, 
especially about the growing part.
  Let me just pause for a moment to talk about why are we seeing 
children and families coming across the border as opposed to adult men.
  We detained about 400,000 people coming across the border last year, 
but we are seeing more and more unaccompanied children and family units 
coming across the border. The simple fact is, the criminal 
organizations that exploit this vulnerability at our border have 
figured out what our laws provide for and where the gaps are, and they 
realize, if an unaccompanied child or a family unit comes across the 
border, current law requires us to separate the adult from the child--
because we don't want to put a child in a jail or detention facility--
and place them, through Health and Human Services, with a sponsor, 
ultimately, in the United States.
  Once they get a sponsor in the United States, then it may be years, 
if ever, before their asylum claim is actually heard in front of an 
immigration judge. The fact is, in the vast majority of circumstances, 
that asylum claim will be granted--or I should say mooted by the fact 
that people don't show up months and years later for their hearing in 
front of the immigration judge but simply melt into the great American 
landscape.
  In this case, the cartels win, and American border security loses 
because our Democratic colleagues simply refuse to work with us to make 
commonsense fixes to this broken asylum system which allows the cartels 
and children and family units to essentially exploit the 
vulnerabilities in our laws and successfully make their way into the 
country.
  That is what they call a pull factor. There are push factors because 
of the violence occurring in countries in Central America, but the pull 
factor is the fact that if you try to come to the United States as an 
unaccompanied

[[Page S1814]]

child or a family unit, you will likely succeed. So it should be no 
surprise to any of us that these numbers continue to grow.
  Back when President Obama talked about this being a growing 
humanitarian and security crisis, there were 68,000 family units 
apprehended at the border. In the last 5 months alone this year, there 
have been more than 136,000 family units apprehended along the southern 
border.
  Historically, we witness the highest numbers of apprehensions in the 
spring and summer months, so I anticipate things will not get better--
they will only get worse--in the months ahead. My State and our border 
communities are certainly feeling the brunt of these growing numbers.
  We also know, as the Border Patrol has told us, that the cartels that 
move illegal drugs into the United States frequently try to flood the 
border with migrants, these family units, in order to distract law 
enforcement personnel from the heroin or the methamphetamine or the 
synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, that come across our border and 
poison so many Americans.
  We know that last year alone, more than 70,000 Americans died of drug 
overdoses. A substantial amount of that was opioids, including the 
synthetic fentanyl. Frequently, the precursors come from China through 
Mexico and into the United States, and 90 percent of the heroin used in 
the United States comes from Mexico. This is a serious matter, and we 
should not turn a blind eye to it.
  Compared to this time last year, family unit apprehensions have grown 
200 percent in the Rio Grande Valley Sector. That is McAllen, TX, and 
that area. They are up more than 490 percent in the Del Rio Sector, 
and, most staggering, in the El Paso Sector, family unit apprehensions 
have increased more than 1,600 percent.
  For those who believe this is somehow a fake emergency or not really 
a crisis, I would ask them: If those numbers were doubled or tripled, 
would they believe there is a crisis or an emergency? I believe there 
is now, and I believe those who deny that a crisis exists are simply 
turning a blind eye to it for, unfortunately, mainly partisan purposes.
  Despite what many on the left claim, there is indeed a humanitarian 
crisis on the border. In addition to the waves of Central Americans 
arriving by the thousands, we are also trying to stop the flow of 
illegal narcotics, as I said, and combat the disgusting practice of 
human smuggling.
  Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard from U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, who leads the more than 
60,000 professionals working to provide security and a safe place for 
trade to come across our ports of entry. Many of these employees of 
Customs and Border Protection call Texas home and work alongside of 
State and local law enforcement to protect us and our neighbors from 
the dangerous goods and, yes, persons trying to cross the border 
illegally.
  Of course, the C in CBP stands for Customs, and they are also charged 
with promoting the safe and efficient movement of legitimate trade and 
travel. In Texas, given our proximity to the border, given our 
location, that is a big task. Our State is the No. 1 exporter in the 
country, with exports last year totaling more than $315 billion. That 
is exporting things that we grow, livestock that we raise, and 
manufactured goods that we make. We sell those to Mexico, our biggest 
customer far and away.
  Folks who live and work along the southern border are proud of the 
strong bonds our country has with our southern neighbor and the dynamic 
culture in the region. Many have family on both sides of the border, 
which makes it an extraordinarily unique place in our country. Thanks 
to the dedicated Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials, 
flourishing businesses, and a vibrant community, the border region is 
thriving.
  I was on the telephone with one of my constituents from McAllen, TX, 
yesterday. He said: Our cities on the border are safe. You would think, 
from what you hear from the national discussion and debates in 
Washington, that people have to wear body armor in McAllen, TX.
  I said: Well, part of the problem is that people are confusing the 
dangerous flow of goods and people across the border with actual 
violence occurring on the border.
  Just to reiterate, our border communities on the U.S. side are some 
of the safest in the country. On the other side, for example, Juarez, 
which is on the other side of the border from El Paso, has historically 
been one of the most dangerous places on the planet, as well as 
Tamaulipas, which is the Mexican State right opposite of McAllen--
again, a hot bed of cartel activity and violence.
  But U.S. cities, I would say, are relatively safe, just like any 
other comparable city in the United States. So people perhaps not 
knowing better or, maybe, perhaps just trying to make a better story 
out of the facts, and I think conflate these ideas. But there is no 
doubt that the drugs, the human trafficking, and the masses of humanity 
coming across our border are creating a crisis at the border of a 
humanitarian and security nature.
  Of course, between the ports of entry--and the ports of entry are 
where the legitimate trade and travel come across our international 
bridges--there are vast swaths of land that are relatively unpatrolled. 
The closest Border Patrol agent could be miles away--something human 
smugglers know and they exploit. These aren't good Samaritans leading 
immigrants to a better life. They are criminals who put profit before 
people and have zero regard for human life.
  According to a 2017 study by Doctors Without Borders, 68 percent of 
the migrants reported being victims of violence during transit from 
Mexico or through Mexico, and 31 percent of the women surveyed had been 
sexually abused during the journey. These are the migrants who turn 
themselves over to the tender mercies of these criminal organizations. 
Sixty-eight percent have been victims of violence, and 31 percent of 
the women have been sexually assaulted. The journey these families face 
on their way to the United States is a harrowing one, and some of them 
don't make it. We have to continue working to stop anyone even 
considering this journey from attempting it.
  I still remember going to Falfurrias, TX, which is away from the 
border but is a Border Patrol checkpoint. What happens is that the 
coyotes will bring people across the border, put them in stash houses 
in sickening and inhumane conditions, and, then, when the time is 
right, put them in a vehicle and transit them up our highway system. 
The Falfurrias checkpoint in Brooks County is one of the ones that 
checks people coming through on their way into the mainland.
  But what happens is that the smugglers will tell the migrants: Get 
out of the car before the checkpoint. Here is a milk carton or jug full 
of water.
  Maybe they give them some candy bars or the like, and say: We will 
see you on the other side.
  So many of the migrants--particularly in the hottest part of the 
summer in Texas--unfortunately, die making that trip. I have been to 
Brooks County and have seen some of the unidentified bones and remains 
of migrants who died trying to make that trip.
  Of course, you can imagine coming from Central America in the first 
place. By the time they even get to Falfurrias and Brooks County and 
the checkpoint, many of them are already suffering from exposure, 
including dehydration.
  As you can imagine, during the time I have been in the Senate, I have 
spent a significant amount of time along the border meeting with CBP 
personnel, law enforcement officials, small businesses, landowners, 
community leaders, and other citizens about the challenges they and we 
are facing and what it is we might be able to do here in Washington to 
help. What I have heard repeatedly is that we need a three-pronged 
approach.
  I know we are primarily focused on or obsessed with physical 
barriers, and that is certainly a piece of it, but that is only one of 
the three elements that we need to deal with border security. We need 
barriers in hard-to-control areas. We need personnel. We need the 
Border Patrol. And, yes, we need technology. Technology can be a force 
multiplier, we all know, to help the Border Patrol identify drug 
smugglers or human traffickers or coyotes bringing human or economic 
migrants across. What works best in one sector isn't

[[Page S1815]]

what is necessarily best for another. So this idea that we would build 
a physical barrier across the entire State is just nonsense. That is 
not what the President has proposed.

  I remember that former Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, 
later the Chief of Staff, said: We are not proposing to build a wall 
``from sea to shining sea''--because he knew what we know, and that is 
that what works best in one sector doesn't work well in another.
  So we need to keep both the funding and the flexibility to provide 
the most needed resources that will work best. That is not something we 
should be trying to dictate or micromanage from thousands of miles 
away. As I mentioned, the humanitarian crisis has evolved significantly 
since 2014, and I have no doubt that it will continue to evolve in the 
coming years. We need to continue the conversation with experts on the 
ground and stakeholders on the ground and make sure that we can adapt 
as the threat evolves.
  Based on feedback from my constituents in Texas, the funding bill we 
passed last month included five specific areas, including the Santa Ana 
Wildlife Refuge and the National Butterfly Center, where barriers 
cannot be constructed. It also included language stating that DHS must 
consult with local elected officials in certain counties and towns. I 
happen to believe that kind of consultation can be very positive and 
can lead to a win-win situation.
  I will mention just one location in Hidalgo County, TX. They are 
right there on the river, and they had to improve the levees because 
they were worried about the rains leading to floods and the destruction 
that would follow. In order to deal with improvement of the levee 
system, they actually worked with the Border Patrol to come up with 
what they called a levee wall, which helped the Border Patrol control 
the flow of migrants to places where they could be accessed most 
easily, but it also provided the improvement in the levee system that 
helped the Rio Grande Valley, and, particularly, Hidalgo County to 
develop those counties without prohibitively high or even nonexistent 
insurance coverage. So that is an example of how, by consulting with 
local stakeholders, we can come up with win-win scenarios.
  The border region's future is bright, thanks to the dedicated law 
enforcement professionals, elected officials, and business community 
leaders who keep it safe and prosperous, but we simply can't turn a 
blind eye and ignore the high level of illegal migration and substances 
moving across our border. We can't turn a blind eye to the migrants 
being left for dead in the ranchlands by human smugglers. We can't 
ignore the humanitarian crisis that continues to grow at an exponential 
rate.
  The President's emergency declaration was his commitment to finally 
address the problems that overwhelmed our communities along the 
southern border--both in 2014, when President Obama identified it, and 
today. It is our duty to deliver real results--not only for the people 
of Texas but for our friends to the south.
  I have heard the concerns raised by my constituents and colleagues 
about the use of emergency powers in this situation, and I share some 
of those concerns. I still believe that the regular appropriations 
process should always be used, but, unfortunately, we saw a refusal on 
the part of the Speaker of the House and others to engage in bona fide 
negotiations on border security funding, and that left the 
administration with what it deemed to be an inadequate source of 
revenue to do the border security measures they felt they needed in 
order to address the humanitarian crisis.
  Rather than engaging with the President and debating whether the 
President has the authority to declare a national emergency for border 
security--which he clearly does--I think our discussions should focus 
on the structure of emergency powers laws moving forward and whether 
Congress has delegated too much power, not just to this President but 
to any President under these circumstances.
  I think Brandeis University did a survey of all of the congressional 
grants of emergency powers that Congress has made over the last years 
and has identified 123 separate statutes which, if the President 
declares a national emergency, will allow the President to reprogram 
money that has been appropriated by Congress for various purposes. I 
think that is a serious overdelegation of authority by Congress to the 
executive branch, which is why I intend to cosponsor a bill introduced 
by our colleague, Senator Lee from Utah, to give Congress a stronger 
voice in the processes under the National Emergencies Act.
  I am going to continue to come to the floor to argue with my 
colleagues about what we need in that unique part of our country, which 
is the border region, not only to have a prosperous region in America 
but also to have a safer America. It is not as simple, frankly, as some 
people would have it be, and it should not be the subject of 
partisanship and game-playing, like we have seen the debate over border 
security under the President's request become.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.
  Ms. HASSAN. Thank you, Mr. President.
  It is good to hear from my colleague from Texas. I am here to talk 
about two different issues, but I did just want to say that I have had 
the pleasure and honor of visiting Senator Cornyn's wonderful State. In 
fact, I was at the border last spring. It is a beautiful State that is 
full of hard-working and welcoming people. Certainly, our men and women 
on the frontlines at the border are working incredibly hard and have a 
lot of excellent ideas about how to secure the border.
  I do just want to make one point, which is simply that in addressing 
a humanitarian crisis at the border, we shouldn't create another one by 
separating families at the border. To be clear, there is nothing in our 
law that requires families to be separated at the border. We simply 
should not be harming children as we deal with this issue.
  I would welcome Senator Cornyn to our Homeland Security Committee, 
where we have discussed the various options that would keep us from 
hurting children in our care.