[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 96 (Monday, June 10, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3273-S3275]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Border Security And Tariffs

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I suppose we were all shocked when 
Customs and Border Protection announced that more than 103,000 people 
illegally crossed our southern border in March. In April, we couldn't 
believe it when that number jumped to more than 109,000, and now we are 
in complete disbelief that in May more than 144,000

[[Page S3274]]

people illegally crossed our southern border.
  I found it interesting that in comments by one of the Presidential 
candidates running on the other side of the aisle, Bernie Sanders, who, 
according to Axios, is running second to Joe Biden in the 2020 
Democratic primary polls, called what is happening at the border now a 
``serious problem'' but not a crisis. When asked what more urgent 
crises there may be, he said: Well, that is an issue we have to deal 
with, but the issue of climate change is a more serious crisis.
  He mentioned that, among other items.
  Senator Sanders finds himself in disagreement, I suppose, with 
President Barack Obama, who, in 2014, called what was happening at the 
border, when the numbers were far lower, a humanitarian and security 
crisis.
  President Obama's Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, 
Jeh Johnson, disagrees with Senator Sanders. He said: ``There is a 
crisis at the southern border that needs [the] urgent attention [of] 
Congress.''
  As it turns out, it is something that Congress itself is capable of 
addressing but so far has refused any efforts to try to come up with a 
compromise piece of language that would deal with this ongoing 
humanitarian and security crisis.
  Vice President Pence's Chief of Staff said: As opposed to bellyaching 
about the actions the President is taking to actually secure the 
border, it would be nice if they put as much energy into actually 
fixing the problem legislatively.
  I couldn't agree more with the Vice President's spokesman, or Chief 
of Staff, in the remarks that he made.
  In May of 2019, this was the third month in a row in which the number 
of individuals who crossed the border illegally was in six figures, a 
trend that we haven't seen since 2006, when the yearly total topped 
more than 1 million. I wouldn't be surprised if we hit that annual 
total again this year.
  Since the beginning of October, Customs and Border Protection has 
encountered more than 667,000 illegal border crossings, making this the 
first time in a decade that we have exceeded half a million 
apprehensions in a year. Don't forget, we still have 5 months to go.
  The government's spokesman said last week: ``We are experiencing a 
systemwide emergency that is severely impacting our workforce, 
facilities, and resources.''
  ``A systemwide emergency,'' he called it. This isn't a manufactured 
crisis, as we heard a few months ago from some of our Democratic 
friends and colleagues. This is not a political stunt. Our Democratic 
colleagues continue to pretend that there is not a problem.
  In the face of rapidly dwindling funds and resources to manage the 
thousands of people in the custody of Customs and Border Protection, 
our Democratic colleagues will not even provide additional funding to 
help the officers and agents who are working day and night to safeguard 
our border and to care for the migrants in their custody. I hope this 
recent data will force our Democratic colleagues to recognize the 
reality that this crisis is happening and it is growing.
  Even the editorial board of the New York Times, never quick to agree 
with President Trump or Republicans--they say it is time to do 
something about it. In an editorial in today's paper, they said: ``When 
Will Congress Get Serious About the Suffering at the Border?''
  Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the 
Record a New York Times editorial dated June 9, 2019, following my 
remarks.
  An excerpt from the editorial of the New York Times editorial board 
said:

       Unequipped to deal with the crush, border facilities and 
     migrant shelters are dangerously overcrowded, and the staff 
     is overburdened. Dysfunction, disease and even death are a 
     growing reality.
       ``We are in a full-blown emergency, and I cannot say this 
     stronger: The system is broken,'' the Acting Commissioner of 
     Customs and Border Protection, John Sanders, said.

  The editorial goes on to say:

       In short, it is time for Congress to stop dithering and 
     pass emergency funding to deal with this nightmare.

  When the President announced his intention to impose new tariffs on 
Mexico, trying to bring them to the bargaining table to make sure that 
it stood up its efforts to try to prevent this flow of humanity from 
Central America, there were many people who questioned the use of that 
negotiating tool. I, for one, was concerned that it would certainly 
have unintended effects, but this is something the President would 
never have had to do if Members of Congress on the other side of the 
aisle would simply work with us to provide a legislative solution and, 
certainly, if Democrats would work with Republicans to provide the 
emergency funding that is so urgently needed for this humanitarian 
crisis.
  Thankfully, the President was successful in his negotiations with the 
Mexican Government, and now we will see whether that 144,000 number in 
May actually begins to come down. That will be the best evidence of 
whether Mexico's agreement with U.S. negotiators actually is providing 
concrete results.
  It is time to put politics aside and start discussing real solutions. 
We know there are no quick fixes when it comes to improving the 
situation at the border. It is going to require a long-term commitment 
by Congress and the administration, as well as our Mexican and Central 
American counterparts. Part of that commitment involves making physical 
improvements along the border and investing in infrastructure, 
personnel, and technology. It is the three-pronged approach that 
experts have repeatedly told me is needed to be successful, and it is 
exactly what Congress ought to be all about providing. We can't just 
put up a strong physical defense and call it a day. We need to devote a 
great deal of time and effort to making improvements to reduce both the 
push factors from these Central American countries and the pull 
factors, which encourage these migrants to come to the United States in 
these kinds of incredible numbers.
  My friend and colleague Henry Cuellar, who happens to be a Democrat 
in the House of Representatives, and I have introduced a bill called 
the HUMANE Act, which would help us begin to reduce the pull factors 
and improve the way we process people who seek asylum in the United 
States. The HUMANE Act would close a major loophole, the Flores 
settlement agreement, which is often abused and exploited by the human 
smugglers. This well-intentioned agreement was made so unaccompanied 
alien children could not be detained for more than 20 days, but a 
flawed court ruling subsequent to that imposed the same 20-day time 
limit on families traveling together.
  Let me tell you, the people who are illegally entering our country 
are not fools. They know our laws, and they know how to get around 
them, as do the people getting rich by moving people from Central 
America across Mexico into the United States--the human smugglers.
  These criminal enterprises know that if individuals travel alone, 
they will be detained and eventually returned to their home country, 
especially if you are a single adult. But if you are traveling with a 
child, the situation unfolds quite differently. After 20 days, they are 
released from detention and told to return for a court date that is who 
knows how many months or years in the future. Guess what. Many of them 
disappear into the great American landscape and never show up for their 
court date.
  Of the more than 144,000 people who illegally crossed our southern 
border last month, 69 percent were either unaccompanied children or 
part of a family. We don't know if these are legitimate families or if 
a child is traveling with a human smuggler or human trafficker. What we 
do know is that children are often abused or sexually assaulted on the 
way here, and many arrive at our border in critical health. It is our 
responsibility to protect all of the children in our custody whether 
they are alone, with a legitimate family member, or with a criminal.
  The HUMANE Act would clarify that the 20-day limit would apply only 
to those children. Family units would no longer receive the same 
treatment, which would deter criminals, smugglers, and traffickers from 
exploiting children as a free ticket into the United States. There 
simply has to be some sort of deterrence, and the only deterrence in 
this context is to detain these individuals until they can appear in 
front of an immigration judge and make their claim for asylum.

[[Page S3275]]

  The vast majority of claimants for asylum are not ultimately 
successful, but if they are released into the great American 
countryside, they never show up again for their court hearing and 
essentially circumvent our laws and exploit those loopholes.
  In addition, the HUMANE Act would provide protections for children, 
such as DNA tests, to ensure that they are actually traveling with a 
biological parent. It would prevent children from being released into 
the custody of a sex offender or a human trafficker.
  I know these seem like commonsense reforms, ones that could protect 
vulnerable children and ensure that our laws are not abused and finally 
begin to reinstate the integrity of our legal immigration system. But 
that is not what is happening right now in the absence of congressional 
action. There are additional commonsense measures in the HUMANE Act, 
such as streamlining the processing of migrants, adding more Customs 
and Border Protection personnel, and training for those who work with 
these migrant children.
  As I said earlier, it is important to note that this is the only bill 
that has bipartisan support. It is not a sweeping reform that will 
immediately fix every problem along our border, but it is an important 
place to start.
  I believe there is more we need to do here at home to stem the 
crisis, but the truth is, we can't do it alone. We need to work with 
Central American countries, where the vast majority of these migrants 
are coming from, to help them build stronger and safer governments and 
countries. We can't do it for them, but we can help. We also need 
additional support from our southern neighbor, the country of Mexico.
  I agree with President Trump that Mexico must do more to prevent the 
mass migration of Central Americans traveling across their countries en 
route to the United States. I commend the President, the 
administration, and the Mexican Government for working together to come 
up with a solution that will help stem the flow of migrants at our 
southern border, as well as avoid the costly economic mistake of 
additional tariffs. The fact is, we can achieve border security without 
compromising our economic security. The two are not mutually exclusive.
  Let me say that one more time. We can achieve border security without 
compromising our economic security. The two are not mutually exclusive.
  I am eager to continue our work in Congress to improve our 
immigration system in a way that prioritizes both physical and economic 
security. I hope our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will 
join me and join us in that effort.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                [From the New York Times, June 9, 2019]

   When Will Congress Get Serious About the Suffering at the Border?


 It's time to cut the squabbling and pass an emergency relief package.

                        (By the Editorial Board)

       Last week, as American and Mexican officials haggled over 
     how to address the migrant crisis at their countries' shared 
     border, United States Customs and Border Protection released 
     its monthly migration statistics. They tell an alarming 
     story.
       In May, 144,278 migrants were taken into custody. It was 
     the third consecutive month in which apprehensions topped 
     100,000 and the highest one-month total in 13 years.
       Unequipped to deal with the crush, border facilities and 
     migrant shelters are dangerously overcrowded, and the staff 
     is overburdened. Dysfunction, disease and even death are a 
     growing reality.
       ``We are in a full-blown emergency, and I cannot say this 
     stronger: The system is broken,'' the acting commissioner of 
     Customs and Border Protection, John Sanders, said.
       Also last week, officials said that the Office of Refugee 
     Resettlement, the agency assigned to care for unaccompanied 
     migrant children, would begin cutting services ``not directly 
     necessary for the protection of life and safety.'' This 
     includes English classes, legal aid and recreational 
     programs.
       Democrats and other administration critics called the move 
     ``cruel'' and ``illegal,'' but the financial reality is that 
     the agency is overwhelmed. So far this fiscal year, it has 
     taken charge of nearly 41,000 unaccompanied children--a 57 
     percent increase over last year. The entire program could run 
     out of funding by the end of June.
       In short, it is time for Congress to stop dithering and 
     pass emergency funding to deal with this nightmare.
       It has been more than a month since the administration sent 
     Congress a request for $4.5 billion in additional border 
     assistance. A large portion of the money, $3.3 billion, was 
     earmarked for humanitarian aid--which most lawmakers agree is 
     sorely needed. But a relatively modest piece of the request 
     aimed at shoring up border security operations, roughly a 
     quarter of the total, has tied negotiators in knots.
       Early on, Democrats were opposed to funding additional 
     detention beds for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 
     Republicans had problems with Democrats' demands for changes 
     in the administration's asylum policies. At one point, 
     negotiators thought they were close to resolving these 
     conflicts, only to have other issues snarl the process. 
     Beyond the money for security, one of the remaining 
     disagreements is how much data sharing will be allowed 
     between the agencies responsible for caring for migrant 
     children and those that handle border enforcement.
       The broader problem is that many Democrats have come to 
     view the Trump administration as untrustworthy, and they are 
     loath to hand over one more penny for anything to do with 
     immigration. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and 
     the Congressional Progressive Caucus have been particularly 
     adamant, insisting that their leadership take a hard line in 
     negotiations. In part, they fear that the administration, 
     despite its promises, will spend any additional funding on 
     enforcement rather than humanitarian needs.
       There is much to despise about this administration's 
     immigration policies, which are exacerbating this crisis, but 
     there should be no ambivalence about the urgency of 
     addressing the humanitarian needs. While lawmakers wring 
     their hands and drag their feet, tens of thousands of migrant 
     children are suffering.
       Congress needs to get serious about dealing with that 
     suffering.

  Mr. CORNYN. I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. McCONNELL. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.