[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 104 (Thursday, June 20, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S4189]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 828. Ms. McSALLY submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
her to the bill S. 1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2020 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the appropriate place, insert the following:

     SEC. ___. ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) During the first 5 months of May 2019, the United 
     States Border Patrol has apprehended more than 593,000 people 
     ilegally crossing the southern border of the United States, 
     which represents more apprehension than in all of 2018.
       (2) In May 2019, 132,887 people were apprehended by the 
     United States Border Patrol, of whom more than 96,000 were 
     part of family units or unaccompanied minors.
       (3) This recent surge in illegal border crossings--
       (A) has placed an unprecedented strain on the resources of 
     the Department of Homeland Security, which has responded by 
     directing U.S. Customs and Border Patrol resources away from 
     legal ports of entry; and
       (B) exceeds the capacity of the Department of Health and 
     Human Services, which is responsible for the care of 
     unaccompanied children who are apprehended at the border.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that--
       (1) the recent surge of illegal border crossings--
       (A) is a national security threat; and
       (B) has put significant strain on the departments and 
     agencies that are responsible for securing the border, 
     implementing our Nation's immigration laws, and providing 
     temporary housing for the people who are awaiting removal 
     proceedings; and
       (2) the recent increase in apprehensions along the southern 
     border, coupled with the lack of sufficient resources at the 
     Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health 
     and Human Services will further exacerbate this humanitarian 
     crisis.
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