[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 62 (Monday, April 12, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1862-S1864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Madam President, once again, I am here today to talk 
about the crisis at our southern border and the continued dismantling 
of our Nation's immigration system by this administration.
  The border has been dominating the headlines, but if you talked to 
the liberals, you wouldn't know it. While we were back home working in 
our States, Democrats focused on everything but the border. President 
Biden released a so-called infrastructure proposal that is not actually 
about infrastructure; it is nothing more than the Green New Deal in 
disguise, and it raises taxes on hard-working Americans.
  Additionally, large corporations and Major League Baseball decided to 
give in to the demands of the woke, liberal mob based on nothing more 
than pure disinformation.
  I know President Biden and Democrats would rather talk about those 
issues than confront the dire situation at the southern border. They 
are trying to pull a con job on the American people. Well, we are not 
going to let President Biden distract from a crisis of his own making.
  In a recent House hearing, Department of Homeland Security Secretary 
Mayorkas made a ridiculous claim that ``the border is secure.'' To say 
the border is secure is laughable. I recently joined Senators Cornyn 
and Cruz and other colleagues on a visit to the southern border to see 
for ourselves, and I can tell you and the American people without 
hesitation, the border is not secure. Reports just don't do it justice. 
It is a disaster. As an American who believes in the rule of law, I was 
embarrassed. This is not a Democratic or a Republican problem; it is an 
American problem. This crisis is a stain on our Nation.
  What we saw on our trip broke my heart--so many young, unaccompanied 
children sent on a dangerous journey north by their parents because 
this administration promised to take them in. The compassion shown by 
the Border Patrol agents was clear. These brave men and women are doing 
all they can to make the best out of a terrible situation--a situation 
created by our President and his administration.
  I have said it before, and I will say it again: The situation 
happening at our southern border was predictable and preventable. The 
Border Patrol folks know this will happen and that it would happen. 
They told us how they asked the Border Patrol before the inauguration 
to give them time to prepare for any changes to the immigration policy, 
but President Biden didn't listen. He was more interested in appeasing 
the globalists who demanded he immediately end President Trump's 
successful border policies.
  On his first day in office, President Biden reversed President 
Trump's policies and signaled to the world that the American border was 
open. President Biden gave Border Patrol little to no warning. The 
result has been a border that is not run by the United States; it is 
run by the Mexican cartel and human smugglers.
  What is worse, it is not just people who are coming in illegally. 
While I was down at the border, I saw firsthand how criminals take 
advantage of the situation. Cartels send migrants to specific locations 
along the border to preoccupy law enforcement while moving illegal 
drugs at other crossing points. On a midnight visit to the Rio Grande, 
these traffickers actually taunted us from across the river, yelling 
and flashing their lights. They know the Biden administration is 
unwilling to confront them, and because the administration won't 
confront them, we have seen massive increases in drug seizures.
  In January and February alone, Customs and Border Patrol seizures of 
fentanyl were up 277 percent compared to the same time in 2020. Cocaine 
seized at the border is up 62 percent. And, remember, whether it is 
people or drugs, these numbers only account for those we catch. There 
are many more drug runners who get through undetected.
  Secretary Mayorkas has said the administration's goal is a safe, 
legal, and orderly immigration system. Well, so far, he and they have 
failed on all three. The immigration system under the Biden 
administration is not safe. By encouraging the migrants to come to the 
border, President Biden has empowered the drug cartels and coyotes who 
prey on desperate people.
  According to Mexican intelligence assessments, it costs an 
unaccompanied Central American minor between $3,000 and $10,000 to be 
secured across the U.S. border. An open border also invites wolves in 
sheep's clothing. According to Customs and Border Protection, at least 
four people have been arrested in the last few months at the border who 
match names on the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database. There is no 
doubt that those who wish harm will take advantage of this crisis to 
infiltrate our country.
  The Biden administration also is not enforcing the laws written by 
Congress. That is why I joined with 39 of my Republican colleagues to 
send a letter to the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office to 
investigate President Biden's unilateral decision to freeze funds for 
the border wall.
  Congress specifically appropriated funds for border wall 
construction. I believe the President's actions infringe on Congress's 
constitutional power of the purse. I hope the GAO will quickly look 
into this so we can begin to restore border security.
  Finally, the immigration system under the Biden administration is not 
orderly. In fact, it is chaotic. Our Border Patrol agents are 
overwhelmed. In March of this year, Border Patrol arrested more than 
170,000 migrants crossing the border illegally. That is the worst month 
in 15 years. To put that in perspective for the folks back home, that 
means there are more illegal migrants rushing our border in 1 month 
than the entire population of Lee County, AL, where I live.
  Last month, more than 18,700 unaccompanied minors were taken into 
custody by the Border Patrol. That is double the number they 
encountered in February.
  This chaos is due entirely to President Biden's careless words and 
foolish policies. The Biden administration is content to let all who 
come here illegally stay. That is a recipe for disaster. The result is 
a border catastrophe.
  I have spoken previously about commonsense actions to secure the 
border, such as continuing to build the wall and reinstating Migrant 
Protection Protocols. Here is one more. I recently introduced a bill 
that would require DHS to issue a notice to appear--called an NTA--to 
every migrant who is processed at the border.
  We cannot--we cannot continue to release illegal immigrants into our 
country without establishing some accountability, such as a date for 
immigration court. At best, it hurts those who come to this country 
actually looking to plead their asylum case. At worst, it is giving 
free rein to those who enter our country illegally.
  The Biden administration says they want humane and compassionate 
improvements to our immigration system. Releasing someone without an 
NTA is neither.
  My bill also requires the Department of Homeland Security to revoke 
any

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status and work authorization from a migrant who doesn't show up for 
their court date. This mandate will curb the pull factors embedded in 
our immigration system and cut down on incentives for illegal 
immigration. It is a small but meaningful step. It is about restoring 
integrity in our immigration system.
  President Biden has made weak attempts to turn back the tide of 
migrants, even telling them: ``Don't come.'' President Biden's actions 
speak louder than those two feeble words. Well, Mr. President, as we 
say in Alabama, you are a day late and a dollar short.
  My Republican colleagues and I will continue to demand action from 
the President on this crisis on behalf of the legal citizens of the 
United States of America. I stand ready to work with the President and 
his administration on commonsense solutions to secure the border, 
strengthen national security, and protect the American people.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Madam President, first, I would like to associate 
myself with the refined remarks of the Senator from Alabama because I, 
too, have come to talk about the crisis on our southern border.
  The Senator from Alabama and I traveled together, along with Senator 
Cruz and Senator Cornyn, just a few weeks ago. I think we had a total 
of 19 Senators who went to see the crisis firsthand.
  And, in fact, it is not just one crisis, as the Senator from Alabama 
and I have both spoken about. It is a double crisis. It is a national 
security crisis as well as a humanitarian crisis.
  We went on a midnight patrol. And what did we see at midnight? Well, 
we saw, and we heard. Not just did we see the lights on, on the other 
side of the Rio Grande; we heard the catcalls from traffickers who were 
taunting our U.S. Border Patrol agents, saying in Spanish: You cannot 
stop us now. That is what we are hearing from the criminals and the 
traffickers across the Rio Grande.
  We saw signs on the ground directing migrants to the facilities where 
they will then turn themselves in, and we spoke to the Border Patrol 
agents. They told us that their jobs got an awful lot harder on January 
20, which is the day Joe Biden became President of the United States.
  President Biden flipped over the sign and sent a clear message around 
the world that said the U.S. border is now wide open. Because of that 
clear message, Border Patrol arrests and detentions have doubled since 
January.
  In March, Border Patrol took 171,000 migrants into custody. Nearly 
19,000 of those were unaccompanied minors. That is an alltime record in 
the United States. And the pace that we are on now is to get to 2 
million illegal immigrants crossing our border this very year.
  According to the Secretary of Homeland Security, nominated by 
President Biden, this is the most in 20 years--the most in 20 years, 
right now, this year, under President Biden. The Biden White House has 
essentially told the world anyone under 18 can cross our border, and we 
will let you in. So it is no surprise that today we are seeing a 
historic influx of children, of teenagers crossing our border.
  The Border Patrol agents tell us two-thirds of them can't do their 
regular jobs because they are too busy babysitting these children or 
escorting adults to the areas where they will turn themselves in. More 
children today are in Border Patrol custody than ever before. And in a 
day of a global pandemic, I will tell you, as I was there with the 
Senators in a location designed for 250 during coronavirus, there were 
7,000 crammed in like sardines, with foil blankets to huddle under, and 
no social distancing--none at all.
  This is a Biden-created humanitarian crisis. Under the law, children 
can only be in Border Patrol custody for 72 hours. We wouldn't want our 
own children there for 72 minutes. Yet there are thousands and 
thousands in custody for over 10 days
  And 10 percent of the young people being tested are testing positive 
for coronavirus. We watched the testing in the courtyard where I was. 
They were all together, and then they tested some, and they said: OK. 
You test negative. You go that way. You test positive. You go that way.
  But absolutely every one of them was exposed to each other. So with 
the fact that 10 percent are testing positive, it is highly likely that 
the remainder will test positive as well. And what is the Biden 
administration doing about that? They are sending those young people--
either those people just exposed to coronavirus, just standing right 
next to somebody with coronavirus, sending them all across the country, 
exposed to whoever knows what strain of coronavirus it was.
  So this is a humanitarian crisis, but, I will tell you, it is also a 
national security crisis. The Department of Homeland Security has now 
arrested two men from the country of Yemen who are on the terrorist 
watchlist. The Border Patrol says they were apprehending people not 
just from Central America and Mexico, they have apprehended people from 
56 different countries there at the border since President Biden has 
taken the oath of office.
  Last week, Border Patrol agents outside San Diego arrested a member 
of MS-13, one of the most vicious criminal gangs in the world.
  Now, these are just a couple of examples that we know about. Imagine 
things we don't know about, the people who haven't been caught, people 
who are roaming among us today in the United States.
  That is what I hear about in Wyoming. I have just been home for 2 
weeks talking to people. This is the No. 1 topic that I heard about 
traveling the State of Wyoming.
  So we have two crises at the southern border: the humanitarian crisis 
and the national security crisis. President Biden has caused them both, 
and President Biden can stop them. Yet the Biden administration is 
still in denial. It refuses to even admit that there is a crisis. 
President Biden still hasn't been to the border. Neither has the Vice 
President, and she is supposed to be in charge of finding a solution to 
the problem.
  So, once again, today I call on President Biden and Vice President 
Harris to go to the border and face the truth. Today is the day. Go to 
the border. Face the truth. The President and Vice President should 
talk to the Border Patrol agents. They should hear the stories that we 
have heard from them. It is the stories that they want to tell. They 
need to hear these stories. They need to face the reality.
  Border Patrol agents told me directly: Finish the wall and bring back 
the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy because those are things that will make 
a difference. Until we do those two things, the jobs of the Border 
Patrol agents will continue to get tougher and tougher every day.
  Vast numbers, vast majorities of American people support the Border 
Patrol agents. I know there are people on the other side of the aisle 
who want to eliminate Immigration and Customs Enforcement, want to get 
rid of the border line and having people who are patrolling the 
borders, want to get rid of it all and have open borders fully and 
without the kind of national security that we need at our borders.
  But according to the Associated Press, only one in four Americans 
approves of how President Biden is handling the border situation. 
President Biden should listen to the American people. We need change at 
the border. We need it today. We cannot wait. Our national security 
cannot wait. The humanitarian crisis must be met and dealt with.
  Republicans are going to continue to offer commonsense solutions that 
will make a real difference at the border. We want to finish the wall. 
We want to bring back the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy. We want to stem 
this crisis--the humanitarian crisis and the national security crisis--
that is facing our Nation today. We stand for enforcing the law, for 
closing loopholes that encourage illegal immigration. We want to secure 
the border.
  So I would urge President Biden and all of my Democratic colleagues 
to please face the facts. Join us in our effort. It is time to bring 
this crisis to an end.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Duckworth). The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.

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  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.