[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 62 (Monday, April 12, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1866-S1867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Unfortunately, just as we are seeing progress on the pandemic, we are 
seeing another crisis on our border.
  In February, Customs and Border Protection encountered more than 
100,000 migrants along our southern border--the highest total since 
2006. Last month, things continued to trend in the wrong direction. CBP 
encountered more than 172,000 migrants along our border, which is the 
highest in two decades.
  Put simply, our immigration system cannot accommodate this many 
migrants coming at one time. We lack the personnel, the facilities, the 
resources, and the policies to efficiently process these migrants to 
make sure those with valid claims, say, for asylum are protected and to 
provide quality care to all of those in our custody in the 
meantime. That is true for adults and family units but especially for 
the alarming number of unaccompanied children.

  In the summer of 2014, we saw a similar spike of children arriving at 
our border, which President Obama called a ``humanitarian crisis.'' It 
absolutely was. Between October 2013 and September 2014, more than 
68,500 unaccompanied children entered the United States. We are only 
halfway through fiscal year 2021 and are already reaching that total, 
with more than 48,500 migrant children having crossed our border just 
in the last 6 months. Nearly 19,000 of these children came last month 
alone, the highest monthly total on record. Putting that in 
perspective, almost 19,000 children in 1 month is roughly enough to 
fill every seat in the AT&T Center in San Antonio, where the San 
Antonio Spurs play.
  There are grave, cascading consequences to this flow of humanity 
coming across our border. It obviously impacts these children as well 
as the communities and organizations that care for them. And, of 
course, the criminal organizations that smuggle people into the 
country, along with illicit drugs, are getting richer in the process.
  Over the last several weeks, I have spent time in these communities 
that are managing this crisis to learn more about the challenges they 
face. Last month, my friend Henry Cuellar, a Congressman from Laredo, 
TX, and I visited the Carrizo Springs Influx Care Facility, which is 
one of the shelters that house young boys aged 13 through 17. We heard 
from the men and women

[[Page S1867]]

who run the shelter, as well as stakeholders in Laredo, elected 
officials, and other NGO representatives. We heard from them about the 
mounting challenges of this crisis.
  I visited three additional facilities in Midland, Dallas, and Houston 
during this last work period, and I saw the incredible ways that these 
communities and the nongovernmental associations are caring for migrant 
children.
  Let me just say, we all recognize our obligation to treat these 
children and these migrants humanely while they are here in our 
country, but we also need to make sure that our laws are equally 
enforced on a fair basis and that people who come this way don't jump 
ahead of people who have been waiting patiently in line to come into 
the United States through legal means.
  Just before the State work period started, Senator Cruz and I hosted 
17 of our fellow Republican colleagues in the Senate down at the Rio 
Grande Valley. I was pleased when I heard from my friend Henry Cuellar 
that he had hosted Joe Manchin, the Senator from West Virginia, and 
John Hickenlooper, the Senator from Colorado. I am glad that Members of 
both parties are coming down to learn for themselves and to listen to 
the experts I depend on to give me good information.
  We saw the facility in Donna and learned about the challenges created 
by such a high volume of unaccompanied children. For folks who don't 
live in a border State or haven't spent much time in our border 
communities, it is important to see the situation firsthand and to 
learn from those experts whom I mentioned a moment ago.
  I have worked with folks in the Rio Grande Valley throughout my time 
in the Senate to ensure that these communities are safe, prosperous, 
and vibrant places to live. These men and women have valuable insight 
for all of us into the policies that have led to this crisis and the 
ones we need to put in place to turn things around. I appreciate these 
experts who spent time sharing their feedback with all of us who have 
been interested enough to travel to the border and the colleagues who 
visited there. I am glad our colleagues were able to see and learn more 
about the unique challenges facing these communities and our Nation 
when it comes to uncontrolled, overwhelming masses of humanity.
  To read news stories about the thousands of children who are brought 
to the United States alone is heartbreaking. To see their faces, 
though, and learn more about the devastating circumstances in which 
they were brought here is also nothing short of heartbreaking.
  At the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, which is now 
serving as a shelter for 2,300 young boys, I heard from one young boy 
who arrived in the United States after a 3-month trek from Central 
America on foot. He told us that he spent time hiding in jungles along 
the way and that food was scarce through much of their journey. As you 
could imagine, he was happy to be at a safe shelter receiving three 
square meals a day. He was understandably soft-spoken about his long 
and treacherous journey, and I am sure he experienced hardships that 
you and I could hardly imagine--certainly circumstances we would never 
want our children or grandchildren to experience.
  Last week, some truly disturbing allegations came out about abuse in 
one of the temporary facilities in San Antonio. As I said, these 
children have arrived in our country after a perilous journey. Many 
arrive sick, malnourished, and having endured abuse, including assault, 
along the way. The fact that any of these forms of abuse could continue 
while under the care of the U.S. Government is despicable. I have 
called on the inspector general of Health and Human Services to fully 
investigate these allegations of sexual assault in this facility at the 
Freeman Coliseum. I hope the administration will support our efforts to 
get to the bottom of what happened and ensure that no child is ever 
subjected to any level of mistreatment while in our care.
  The real kicker in all of this is that as all of this is unfolding, 
the coyotes, the smugglers, and the cartels that bring these children 
to our border are getting richer and richer and richer. Border Patrol 
said it is common for families to pay thousands of dollars to the 
coyotes to bring children to America. With nearly 19,000 caught last 
month alone, it is easy to see how profitable this business is.
  Let's say the cartels charge $5,000 a head--a low estimate based on 
some of the figures I have seen. That would mean these criminals 
brought in nearly $100 million in revenue in March alone just from 
smuggling children. These cartels'--these transnational criminal 
organizations--tactics include dropping children as young as 3 years 
old over the top of a 14-foot segment of the border wall or allowing a 
6-month-old child to be thrown from a raft into the Rio Grande River to 
divert Border Patrol while they attempt a rescue so they can get on 
their way.
  This has to stop. We can get into an argument about who is to blame, 
but that doesn't change the more important matter about who has the 
power to stop it.
  First, President Biden needs to acknowledge the scope of this crisis 
and commit to addressing it along with us in the Congress. All we have 
gotten from the White House so far are statements telling migrants now 
is not the time to come, as if they would let everyone know when the 
time to come is appropriate.
  Two weeks ago, President Biden tasked Vice President Harris to lead 
efforts to address this crisis, and I thought this was a sign that the 
administration was finally ready to take some informed action. But the 
Vice President has not made a single trip to the border yet, and there 
is not even one on the horizon. Then she seemed to walk back--that, no, 
her assignment wasn't at the border; it was to engage in diplomacy with 
countries in Central America.

  Simple statements urging people not to come are meaningless when all 
of the policies represent a flashing green light. That is especially 
true when Central Americans hear messages from their family and friends 
who have made it to America that the door is wide open and they will be 
let in.
  The administration must take action and implement policies that 
discourage parents from sending their children on this perilous and 
dangerous journey in the hands of human smugglers and criminals into 
the United States.
  We have a big role to play too. Immigration reform has been one of my 
greatest frustrations throughout my time here. Previous attempts to 
make lasting changes led to bills that were so big that they crumbled 
under their own weight. I hope we can all agree that this is not the 
time to repeat that history. We need to take action to address the 
crisis at hand now, without extraneous matters that could be and should 
be changes made down the line. I am working with some of my Democratic 
colleagues to achieve this end, and I am eager to share more details 
soon.
  Republicans and Democrats must work together to address this crisis 
and to bring order out of chaos and to protect the innocent children 
who are being harmed.
  Legal immigration has been one of the cornerstones of our great 
country throughout our history. Legal immigration is generous, it is 
safe, it is orderly, and it is fair. Illegal immigration and the 
horrors that it brings along with it, some of which we learned about on 
our recent trips to the border, are not humane. They dishonor the 
willingness of the people who want to come to the country legally, who 
wait patiently in line, by jumping ahead of them in line. But, as I 
said, the cartels and human smugglers know our laws and our 
vulnerabilities better than we do, and they are exploiting it each and 
every day. We have to bring it to an end.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.