[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1170-S1171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Immigration

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I come to the floor today to say 
that we have gotten some good news this week from our Southern border. 
We are making progress on the wall that President Trump has fought so 
hard for, and that progress will be further supported by billions of 
dollars in new appropriations funding to reach the President's goal of 
450 miles by 2021. Think about it--450 miles that have been secured.
  What we do know is that as a result of all of these ramped-up 
security efforts, border apprehensions are down 78 percent from last 
May's high of over 130,000. We have had falling--falling--numbers every 
single month for the last 8 months. This is a very good thing. It shows 
the word is getting out that we are serious about our sovereignty, 
about securing our border, about ending the access that traffickers--
human traffickers, drug traffickers--have had on that border. That is a 
good thing.
  This good news is clouded a little bit by the reality that all is 
still not well. Border Patrol officials estimate that nearly 1 million 
migrants--I want you to think about that number: nearly 1 million 
migrants--crossed our border illegally and evaded apprehension in

[[Page S1171]]

fiscal 2019. That is the severity of this problem. Think about it--1 
million people, additional people. Think about the size of a population 
of 1 million people. That is the number that moved into our country. We 
do not know who they are. We do not know where they have come from. We 
do not know if they are traffickers. We do not know if they wish us 
well or their intent for coming into our country.
  While things are trending in the right direction, I think it is fair 
to say we are not out of the woods yet on this issue of illegal 
immigration. Until we get this influx of illegal aliens under control 
and manage the fallout of allowing so many people to come into this 
country and live illegally, this is what we have.
  Every town is a border town and every State will remain a border 
State because of the problems they have to face every single day.
  Let me give an example. On December 29, 2018, Knoxville, TN, fire 
chief D. J. Corcoran and his wife Wendy's lives were changed forever, 
and their happy, healthy family was brutally transformed into a 
grieving Angel Family. On that day, an illegal alien in Tennessee 
struck and killed their 22-year-old son, Pierce Corcoran. It was a 
head-on car crash. Pierce died that day. A few months later, that 
illegal alien was deported to Mexico.
  I have to tell you, for me, as I have worked with the Corcorans since 
this time and shared their grief, this is an unsatisfying end to a 
tragic series of events that never should have happened because the man 
responsible for Pierce's death never should have been in Tennessee in 
the first place.
  That story is heartbreaking. Unfortunately, it is not unique. In 
2019, another Tennessean, named Debbie Burgess, was killed in a hit-
and-run accident caused by an illegal alien with a lengthy criminal 
record.
  Just last week in Sevier County, TN--and this is something that has 
shaken the entire community--two elementary school children walking to 
school were hit by an illegal alien who fled the scene. Tragic.
  Every Member of this body is well aware that our country's permissive 
attitude toward illegal immigration has real-life consequences. Our 
constant debate over policy and funding does not exist solely in the 
abstraction of politics. Starting right now, we must look internally 
and ask ourselves what changes we can make to disincentivize illegal 
entry into the United States. What can we do?
  It seems so easy to people: Come across the border illegally. You 
might be able to get benefits. You can have access to education. You 
can work. There is a way to do this and live in the shadows.
  How do we disincentivize this?
  While Tennessee, along with a majority of States, prohibits driver's 
licenses for illegal aliens, a growing number of States are moving in 
the opposite direction and allowing dangerous, open-border-style 
policies.
  This month, I introduced the Stop Greenlighting Driver Licenses for 
Illegal Immigrants Act, and its purpose is precisely what the title of 
this bill says it will do. You can see from the poster, there are some 
States in red. If you live in one of those States, your State--your 
State--has agreed to give driver's licenses to illegal aliens.
  Let me tell you a little bit more about this. Once it is signed into 
law, the bill will halt certain Department of Justice grant funding to 
States that defy Federal immigration law, noncomplying States--that 
means those States that say: We are not going to comply with Federal 
law. Oh, no, not us. We are going to be a sanctuary for those who are 
illegally in the country and are choosing to break the law.

  They decided they are going to be a sanctuary for illegal aliens. 
That is what you call a noncomplying State. Those States will no longer 
enjoy access to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant 
Program. This is a program that was created to fund local law 
enforcement and criminal justice initiatives.
  In 2019, States that issued driver's licenses to illegal immigrants 
received over $50 million from this program, so their choice to defy 
the law will result in no small sacrifice. It is their choice. They can 
choose, if they want to, to say: We refuse to comply with Federal law. 
They can make that choice, but they are not going to get taxpayer money 
through law enforcement grants. This is common sense.
  I want to encourage my colleagues to think back to the fear and 
confusion that we all experienced in the weeks after 9/11. I am sure 
you remember that time. I remember that time. I remember that feeling 
of, what can we do? Not only had we known tremendous loss, we had 
discovered that we were not nearly as secure as we thought we were in 
this country.
  One of the loopholes we discovered came about because people said: 
How in the world could these terrorists, hijackers, have so easily 
obtained a State-issued driver's license that allowed them to board 
those planes and carry out those deadly attacks? People said: How could 
this have happened? How could they have done this?
  We found a loophole. What did we do? We closed that loophole. We 
passed the REAL ID Act. This isn't done as a form of repression; it is 
a practical way of managing a vulnerability that was found in State 
agency paperwork. The REAL ID Act is something we are all complying 
with now. You have to take a Social Security number. You have to take 
proof of residence. You have to take other documentation that shows you 
are who you claim to be.
  Less than 20 years later, look at where we are. Thirteen States and 
the District of Columbia have regressed into more lax policies--pre-9/
11 policies. Often, they only require a passport or a consular card as 
proof of identity.
  Here is the kicker: If you do not have the right documents--meaning 
you don't have a passport, you don't have a birth certificate, you 
don't have a Social Security number, you don't have proof of residency, 
you don't have proof of employment--these States are saying: Never 
mind; doesn't matter. We are going to let you sign an affidavit--an 
affidavit--to say you are not able to secure a Social Security number.
  What are these States doing? They are creating, again, a 
vulnerability in the system. There are people who will go sign an 
affidavit. Guess what. All of a sudden, they have a REAL ID. These 
States say: Oh, we are going to stamp it for State-use only. I think 
they say that with a wink-wink, nod-nod because they know they are 
putting a vulnerability in that system. They are letting people that--
we do not know who they are, we do not know their intent for being in 
this country, but they are going to allow this reckless policy to go 
into effect. And it is reckless. It goes hand in hand with other broad 
sanctuary rules that increase crime and that frustrate the efforts of 
our local law enforcement officials.
  Here is another bit of good news: The courts are coming down on the 
side of security. Yesterday, a Federal appeals court--the Second 
Circuit Court in New York--upheld President Trump's authority to enact 
anti-illegal immigration, anti-sanctuary policies similar to what would 
be codified in my legislation. It would allow for those funds to be 
restricted for those entities that are making a choice, taking a vote, 
and deciding they don't want to comply with Federal law.
  I will tell you, I should not have to stand on the floor of the 
Senate and beg our colleagues to support policies that stand with the 
rule of law and prevent tragedies like the deaths of Pierce Corcoran 
and Debbie Burgess.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in this effort, join me in standing 
with the rule of law. Join me in standing with these Angel Families who 
know grief that I wish no one had to know and experience. Join me in 
supporting the Stop Greenlighting Driver Licenses for Illegal 
Immigrants Act.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. GARDNER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Young). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  (The remarks of Mr. GARDNER pertaining to the introduction of S. Res. 
514 are printed in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced 
Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')
  Mr. GARDNER. I yield the floor.