[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 16, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H1367]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 FACING CATASTROPHE ON SOUTHERN BORDER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, despite what the Biden 
administration would like the American people to believe, our Nation is 
facing a catastrophe on the southern border.
  Last month alone, U.S. Border Protection officers encountered more 
than 100,000 migrants attempting to cross the border illegally. This is 
a 173 percent increase from last February.
  Right now, the Office of Refugee Resettlement shelters that house 
unaccompanied migrant children are reaching capacity. Our border agents 
are being diverted from their posts to care for record numbers of 
teenagers and children who are illegally crossing our border.
  This escalating crisis is rooted right here in Washington, D.C., more 
than 1,700 miles away from that border. As we witness unprecedented 
groups of migrants reaching the United States, there is no question 
that the President's weak border security stance has heightened this 
so-called challenge.
  By reversing the Trump administration's actions to bolster security 
on the southern border and halting construction of the border wall, the 
current administration is sending a clear message to the world that 
America's border, unfortunately, is wide open.
  Innocent people, and cartels and human traffickers who prey upon 
them, pay attention to what we say here in Washington. Words have 
consequences. Rhetoric has ramifications.
  What is happening on the southern border is both a humanitarian and 
security crisis. It is simply inhumane for politicians to incentivize 
the dangerous trek across Central America to the southern border.
  Those who attempt the journey face treacherous conditions, gang 
violence, and unthinkable danger. As my friend, Republican leader Kevin 
McCarthy, said at the border just yesterday, ``This is human 
heartbreak.''
  As the situation worsens, the limited resources on the border are 
being pulled away from protecting the American people. The Biden 
administration is prioritizing illegal immigrants over the American 
people. As U.S. Customs and Border Protection leadership shifts to 
caring for migrants, there are fewer officers focusing on apprehending 
threats.
  This is not only a human trafficking crisis; it is also a drug 
trafficking crisis. The illicit drugs, including deadly 
methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl, that come across the porous 
southern border are killing Pennsylvanians in the streets of Altoona, 
Johnstown, Bedford, Chambersburg, Gettysburg, and Somerset, and 
throughout my district.
  Just this weekend, Border Patrol agents apprehended two individuals 
attempting to smuggle nearly 8 pounds of methamphetamine across the 
border. By preventing these drugs from reaching American communities, 
we likely saved lives. What would have happened if these suspects 
hadn't been caught?
  Clearly, we need more, and not less, security on our southern border.
  As our Nation continues to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress 
cannot afford to stand back and allow the border crisis to get even 
worse. We need safer, stronger, and more secure communities in 
Pennsylvania and across the country.
  Here is the truth: The border crisis has consequences beyond the 
border. Inaction is not the correct action. Border security is national 
security.

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