[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 101 (Thursday, June 10, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4027-S4028]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. President, I come to the floor today following the 
conclusion of Vice President Harris's border evasion tour to Guatemala 
and Mexico earlier this week.
  As a physician, I have had the opportunity to do multiple mission 
trips to Mexico and Central America, and I have been to the border now 
three times. I have seen the crisis firsthand, which is why it was so 
concerning to me that in the early days of this new administration, 
they followed through on a number of campaign promises related to 
opening our border and curbing control measures put in place by the 
previous administration.
  Just to be clear, the current administration issued multiple 
Executive orders and actions on immigration, including halting 
construction of the border wall, ending the ``Remain in Mexico'' 
policy, and reaffirming the White House's commitment to grant blanket 
amnesty to 11 million illegal immigrants residing in the United States. 
While President Biden and his administration appear surprised by the 
massive influx of immigrants and migrants encountered in the aftermath, 
this was a predictable result.
  As described by the President of Guatemala, once the message from the 
White House changed to, ``We're going to reunite families, we're going 
to reunite children. The very next day, the coyotes were here 
organizing groups of children to take them to the United States.''
  On March 24, after months of resulting escalating crises on our 
southern border, President Biden tapped Vice President Harris to serve 
as his border czar. In the 10 weeks that have passed since her 
appointment, the situation at the border has continued to worsen. In 
April, Customs and Border Protection officials made more than 178,000 
apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border. In May, they once again made 
more than 170,000 apprehensions, marking the third straight month over 
that figure. These are 20-year records.
  As demonstrated in an interview with Lester Holt this week, Vice 
President Harris considers these staggering

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numbers a laughing matter. If she took her role seriously and actually 
visited our southern border, she would realize that Americans who live 
in border communities are not laughing. That is because their towns are 
being overwhelmed by migrants, and they feel their lives are in danger.
  Now, the origin of these migrants has expanded as the crisis has gone 
on. In recent weeks and months, Border Patrol has encountered 
significant numbers of migrants from Ecuador, Venezuela, Cuba, and 
Brazil. While these arrivals have come from a wide variety of nations, 
the majority of the border crossings continue to come from Mexico and 
the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras, and El 
Salvador.
  Despite years of foreign aid and assistance to the nations, this is a 
trend we have seen growing in recent years. Since 2018, Border Patrol 
has encountered approximately 5 percent of Honduras's population, 3.5 
percent of Guatemala's, and roughly 3 percent of El Salvador's 
population. Now Vice President Harris is proposing to provide more than 
$300 million in regional humanitarian aid and a $4 billion long-term 
plan for Central America.
  However, as this graph shows, there is little evidence to show that 
this type of cash injection will reduce migration from these Northern 
Triangle nations, and Biden administration officials acknowledge that 
even if these efforts were successful, it would take years or possibly 
even decades to truly make an impact. This is not the type of urgency 
needed to address this raging crisis on our border. This is simply 
throwing good money after bad money.
  Let's take a look how policy impacts the border. This graph proves 
the cause of the crisis is policy, and aid has been ineffective in 
remaking the economy of the Northern Triangle. These economies need 
much more than intermittent aid infusion. I like to use the phrase 
``trade not aid.'' Since entering into CAFTA-DR in 2005, the United 
States has increased trade between the United States and the other six 
countries in the agreement: Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El 
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. As of 2019, goods traded 
among the countries included in the pact increased by 62 percent. By 
working to expand trade in the region, the United States could boost 
capital investment and prosperity.
  This type of productivity could result in further good job 
opportunities and encourage individuals in the Northern Triangle to 
remain home rather than pouring across our southern border. It also has 
the potential to reconfigure supply chains away from China and bolster 
our relationship with nations in our hemisphere at a time when China is 
moving to exploit developing countries.
  I have seen the empty warehouses and jobs leaving Central America 
firsthand in Honduras on mission trips--a result of China entering the 
World Trade Organization. Through stronger trade agreements, we can 
help bring jobs back to our hemisphere, particularly those that would 
help address some of our medical supply challenges, such as making 
medical gowns, masks, and gloves. These could easily be made in Central 
America.
  At the same time, it is absurd that this administration cannot chew 
gum and walk at the same time. Proposing $4 billion of taxpayer funds 
in an aid package, when their recently proposed $6 trillion budget 
request does not include funding increases for the missions carried out 
by the Department of Homeland Security along the border, is 
astonishing.
  A final point, Vice President Harris keeps saying she wants to get to 
the root of the problem, and while White House policy has created the 
crisis at the border, the true long-term root of the problem is the 
lack of law and order in Central America, which leads to unstable 
economies.
  The policies first put in place by President Obama and now by the 
current administration have enriched the cartels, further encouraged 
violence, and harmed Central American economies. By not truly 
addressing the roots, their policies continue to encourage migrants to 
make the long dangerous journey north.
  We must continue to build a wall along the southern border and 
increase funding for technology, radars, towers, air assets, and 
others. We must also reinstate the ``Remain in Mexico'' program. Our 
Vice President, acting as border czar, must visit our southern border 
communities and the CBP agents and officers overwhelmed by this self-
inflicted crisis.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.