[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 14, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S1944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    SENATE RESOLUTION 156--COMMENDING THE OFFICERS AND PERSONNEL OF 
FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL AGENCIES DEPLOYED BY AIR, GROUND, AND MARINE, 
 AND AS TACTICAL BORDER SECURITY, FOR THEIR WORK DURING THE CRISIS AT 
                          THE SOUTHERN BORDER

  Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. Lankford, Mr. Cruz, Mr. 
Johnson, and Mr. Hawley) submitted the following resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs:

                              S. Res. 156

       Whereas U.S. Customs and Border Protection (referred to in 
     this preamble as ``CBP'') is charged with protecting the 
     borders of the United States and facilitating travel and 
     trade;
       Whereas President Biden promised a humane approach to 
     immigration but the Biden Administration was woefully 
     unprepared for a surge of migrants from Central America, 
     including a record number of vulnerable, unaccompanied 
     children unlawfully crossing the unsecured United States-
     Mexico border (referred to in this preamble as the ``Southern 
     border'');
       Whereas the Southern border is experiencing a humanitarian 
     crisis with unprecedented numbers of vulnerable individuals 
     attempting to unlawfully enter the United States;
       Whereas, on March 13, 2021, the Department of Homeland 
     Security directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to 
     support a government-wide response effort to address the 
     surge of unlawful crossings at the Southern border;
       Whereas, in February 2021, 100,441 individuals were 
     apprehended at the Southern border, which is a 28 percent 
     increase from January 2021;
       Whereas a total of 458,088 individuals were encountered at 
     the Southern border in fiscal year 2020, which is only 61,130 
     encounters more than the number recorded in the first half of 
     the current fiscal year;
       Whereas, in all of fiscal year 2020, 33,239 unaccompanied 
     minors were encountered at the Southern border, which is only 
     3,510 encounters more than the number recorded in the first 
     half of the current fiscal year;
       Whereas CBP has conducted more than 3,000 daily 
     apprehensions, while still maintaining a posture to secure 
     the border of the Nation and facilitate international trade 
     and travel;
       Whereas the immigration policies of President Biden are--
       (1) luring hundreds of thousands of migrants to unlawfully 
     cross the Southern border;
       (2) leading to an alarming increase in human trafficking 
     and drug smuggling by cartels and transnational criminal 
     organizations; and
       (3) putting unaccompanied minors at risk of human 
     trafficking, violence, sexual abuse, and separation from the 
     families of the unaccompanied minors;
       Whereas numerous acts of selfless heroism by CBP agents 
     occur on a daily basis, as the agents face dangerous 
     conditions but continue to risk their lives during a global 
     health pandemic to rescue migrants attempting to unlawfully 
     enter the United States along the Southern border;
       Whereas the selfless heroism by CBP agents has been on full 
     display as the crisis at the Southern border grows and 
     thousands of aliens attempt to unlawfully enter the United 
     States each day, including recently reported rescues--
       (1) in February 2021, of a migrant woman from Mexico 
     abandoned by human smugglers and left to die in a freezing 
     winter storm as they attempted to unlawfully enter Texas;
       (2) in March 2021, of a migrant man and a 2-year-old child 
     swept away by a swift current in a canal as they attempted to 
     unlawfully enter Arizona;
       (3) in March 2021, of a migrant man who was abandoned by 
     human smugglers unlawfully entering California, remained 
     missing for 8 days, and had to be carried out of the 
     mountainous terrain on the shoulders of a CBP agent; and
       (4) in March 2021, of a migrant man in severe distress in a 
     remote desert location who was abandoned by human smugglers 
     attempting to unlawfully enter New Mexico and who required 
     serious medical attention;
       Whereas faced with inadequate Federal resources to manage 
     the surge of illegal border crossings, States along the 
     Southern border have installed their own border protection 
     patrols, such as Arizona Border Strike Force and Operation 
     Lone Star in Texas; and
       Whereas resources from Federal, State, and local agencies 
     will need to be diverted from other areas to handle the surge 
     of migrants unlawfully entering the United States: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes that there is an ongoing and growing crisis 
     on our Southern border; and
       (2) commends the men and women of the U.S. Customs and 
     Border Protection, including Border Patrol personnel, Office 
     of Field Operations personnel, Air and Marine Operations 
     personnel, Office of Trade personnel, the Federal Emergency 
     Management Agency, and all support personnel and allies of 
     such agencies from State and local governments for the work 
     of such men and women during the crisis at the Southern 
     border.

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