[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 105 (Wednesday, June 16, 2021)]
[House]
[Page H2829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 CRISIS AT THE BORDER MUST BE ADDRESSED

  (Mr. GUEST asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. GUEST. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year I had the opportunity to 
join with my other Republican colleagues to visit the southwest border. 
This was not a gesture, as the Vice President has referred to these 
visits. It was, instead, a learning opportunity.
  The conditions we saw and the stories we heard conveyed a situation 
far worse than we had previously imagined. We learned that border 
encounters are at a 20-year high. We spoke directly to Border Patrol 
and law enforcement officers who told us that they are so overwhelmed 
with the care of migrants that they are unable to execute essential 
core roles of their job. We learned how drug cartels are taking 
advantage of the overwhelmed system and saw the routes they use to 
smuggle drugs and people across the border.
  What we witnessed could only be defined as a crisis. This is why I 
encourage all of my colleagues and the Vice President to set aside 
political gamesmanship, visit the border, and see the crisis firsthand.

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