[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 77 (Thursday, May 9, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2765-S2766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, I wanted to spend just a few minutes 
today speaking with my colleagues and also with Tennesseans about an 
issue that we hear so very much about every single day. The issue 
continues to persist. It is our border, and we all know--and, indeed, 
you read in news count after news count--that yes, indeed, there is a 
crisis at our border.
  Just a few months ago, we had some of our friends who are in the 
other Chamber who kept saying: Oh, this is manufactured; oh, there is 
nothing to it.
  But as we hear from law enforcement professionals, as we hear from 
ICE, from DHS, and from the Border Patrol, we have a crisis. Our border 
is strained to the breaking point.
  The real humanitarian crisis at the border is escalating. There are 
people who are being brought in through Central America, through 
Mexico, and they are stranded in the desert without food and without 
water. During the summer, sometimes you have temperatures above 100 
degrees.
  Our border is at a breaking point, and it is, indeed, time for this 
body to do something about it and to support these Agencies that are on 
the frontline dealing with this crisis every single day.
  What we know from our hearing that we held yesterday at the Senate 
Judiciary Committee is that ICE is facing mounting challenges when it 
comes to expediting the deportations that need to take place. Abuse and 
exploitation of the asylum process overburdens our court system as 
illegal immigrants flood our borders claiming persecution.
  Our country historically welcomes people who are fleeing political 
persecution, but there have to be tighter rules on these asylum 
seekers. The percentage of those who have valid asylum claims is 
actually relatively low compared to the number who are applying for 
these protections. I will tell you that I welcome President Trump's 
moves to raise the standards.
  Last week, the President directed the Department of Homeland Security 
to enact several new asylum changes. As part of these new policies, the 
President imposed a new deadline for the immigration courts to meet. He 
directed that cases in immigration courts be settled within 180 days of 
those being filed.
  Tennesseans want to see government accountability. They want to see 
it across every Agency. Certainly, when it comes to immigration policy, 
they want this accountability. They know that with a 6-month deadline, 
it is exactly the kind of accountability that is needed.
  Here is the problem that ICE is facing when it comes to meeting that 
180-day standard. Right now, as of yesterday at our hearing, they had 
more than 800,000 cases that were pending. Think about that. Your court 
system has 800,000 cases that are pending. There are exactly 400 
immigration judges that are there to hear these 800,000 cases. Do the 
math on that. Think about how many cases that would be.
  It is a 2-year wait at this point to get the case heard. So ICE needs 
additional judges. That means they need additional officers, and that 
means they need additional funding in order to meet the load.
  I asked Director Asher how long it would take them to ramp up in 
order to be able to hear these 800,000 cases. She said: months, maybe a 
year, maybe a little bit longer. It depends on when they get the 
authorization to expand the court system. It depends on when they get 
the funding for it.
  All of this time, what continues to happen? Cases continue to be 
piled onto that backlog. If we took action today, and if we approved 
their ability to expand their capacity to have more judges, to have 
more agents, to have more officers, and to have more resources, it 
would be a year by the time we worked through this process. It might be 
as many as 1.5 million cases that they are working on.
  This is one of the reasons that it is imperative that we close some 
of the loopholes that are being used in the asylum process and work 
through closing these loopholes to help secure this border. It is 
something that would be of assistance to those who are trying to meet 
the need that is there from people crushing our border, putting that 
foot on American soil, and claiming asylum and persecution.
  Another thing we talked about in yesterday's hearing is trafficking. 
We all know that cartels are big business. Cartels deal in trafficking 
drugs. They deal in trafficking human beings, which is disgusting, and 
they look at human beings to move them for labor trafficking, for sex 
trafficking, and for gangs. They look at that as part of their 
business.
  I know Senator Cruz talked about his EL CHAPO Act, which would allow 
those seized assets from these drug lords to be used to help pay to 
secure that border, because stopping this trafficking is something that 
is an imperative. It really is true that until we secure this southern 
border every town is, in essence, a border town and every State is a 
border State because illegal immigration no longer is a problem that is 
confined to those States that are on the border. We see this all across 
our country, and it is heartbreaking--you talk about the trafficking of 
human beings, the sex trafficking, and the effect that has on girls, 
when you talk about the drug trafficking and the heartbreaking effects 
that has on families in every single one of our communities. Opioids, 
fentanyl, heroin--we all see it.

  God bless our local law enforcement. Next week we are going to honor 
our

[[Page S2766]]

law enforcement, but God bless them for the work they do in our 
communities. Here is a good example. Just this past January, our 
Customs and Border Patrol seized the largest amount of fentanyl in the 
agency's history ever--largest amount. They seized nearly 254 pounds of 
fentanyl from a Mexican national trying to enter the United States. It 
was enough to kill more than 115 million people. That is the volume 
that 1 person was bringing over--enough fentanyl to kill 115 million 
people. This is why we have to make certain we secure that border.
  As I mentioned, the trafficking of human beings is taking place. 
Another of the problems is that many adult sponsors who are seeking 
custody of children are here illegally themselves. The traffickers have 
adults grab a child; they are coming to the border. The child is then 
transferred to someone else in the country, and that individual is here 
illegally. It is difficult to find out how that child is connected to 
the adult they are taken to. Sometimes it could be a labor gang. 
Sometimes it could be a prostitution ring. We don't know. I commend the 
Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, which 
are taking steps to close a big loophole here. Last April, the two 
agencies entered into an agreement to ensure that relatives of these 
children are not above the law. Under the agreement, DHS and HHS 
promised to share information about these adult sponsors so that ICE 
can run criminal and immigration background checks on them. This 
agreement is a powerful tool in the fight to stop trafficking of 
migrant children. So long as law enforcement can keep running these 
criminal background checks on these sponsors, we can hold more adults 
accountable and keep these children safe.
  Finally, I want to touch on the wall because Border Patrol Chief 
Provost told me during the hearing yesterday that the wall was working. 
The San Diego sector has 14 miles of the new double fencing that has 
been approved by Congress. It is the first of the sections of the new 
wall. Previously, some of the old walls were 6 feet high, and they were 
made out of landing mats, and they were not successful in deterring 
illegal entry. The new walls are 30 feet high, and they stand on steel 
bollards. The barrier is making it tougher for illegal immigrants to 
sneak across, and it is helping our agents. Our agents have told us 
repeatedly--not for the last few months or the last couple of years 
but, get this, for 20 years--for 20 years, they have said we need three 
things: We need a barrier; we need better technology; and we need more 
agents and officers on the ground.
  These men and women deserve our best efforts, and we should be giving 
them what they need. Our immigration system is full of legal loopholes 
and physical vulnerabilities. I applaud the President's new asylum 
changes, and I urge each of my colleagues to support law enforcement's 
needs. They are consistent in asking for these three things--barriers, 
technology, and agents. This is what they need in order to help keep 
our Nation safe.
  So as we consider how much we value our safe communities, how much we 
want our communities to be safe and happy and prosperous, I encourage 
each of us to think about these agents who are working to protect that 
southern border, to deal with human trafficking, to deal with sex 
trafficking, and to keep illegal drugs off our streets.
  Thank you.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader.

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