[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 165 (Thursday, September 23, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6651-S6653]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, 8 months into the humanitarian crisis at 
the southern border, our Democratic colleagues are finally, finally 
paying attention. This is after 1.2 million migrants have arrived since 
President Biden took office, which apparently did not raise any 
particular alarms. Neither did the countless numbers of migrants who 
endured abuse at the hands of criminal organizations and human 
smugglers.
  Our colleagues didn't spring into action either when the processing 
center in Donna, TX, reached 1,600 percent capacity earlier this year, 
and they didn't show much concern about the fact that the surge had 
left huge security gaps along our border, making it easier for the drug 
cartels to move heaven knows what into our country. Actually, we do 
know what they moved into the country because more than 90,000 
Americans died of drug overdoses last year, principally from illegal 
drugs imported across the U.S.-Mexico border.
  Finally, our Democratic colleagues seem to be paying some attention.
  Over the last several days, more than 15,000 migrants, primarily 
Haitians, have arrived at Del Rio, TX, a town of about 35,000 people--
15,000 migrants in a town of 35,000. You can imagine what sort of 
reaction they have had. These migrants have set up camp under the 
International Bridge, and Border Patrol, State, and local officials 
have been working around the clock to ease the humanitarian crisis. Of 
course, the first concern in 100-degree temperatures is to try to help 
protect these migrants, making sure they have food and water and that 
people don't die of heat stroke.
  I want to thank the Border Patrol, which does a lot of good work, and 
a lot of the good work it does is to save the lives of migrants who are 
suffering from exposure or injury and have been left behind by the 
coyotes, but it is also the law enforcement arm of the Federal 
Government to secure the border.
  So the Border Patrol, local, and State law enforcement and everyone 
seem to come together to meet the surge of migrants in Del Rio, but 
like the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, these men and women have 
been operating in crisis mode for months and are expected to carry the 
weight of a crisis that everybody knew was coming.
  As the Biden administration races to respond to the crisis now, 
finally, I am left wondering: Why didn't they see this coming? After 
all, 1.2 million migrants have crossed our border just

[[Page S6652]]

since Joe Biden put his hand on the Bible and took the oath of office 
on January 20. The President campaigned, actually, on the promises of 
policies that were certain to lead to a surge of migrants at the 
border, and that is just what we have seen.
  When the President and Director Mayorkas and Vice President Harris 
say, ``Don't come,'' the migrants see people pouring across the border 
in the hundreds of thousands and successfully making their way into the 
interior of the United States. The human smugglers--the criminal 
organizations that move migrants from their homes across the border--
are getting rich. They are whispering in the ear of the migrants and 
saying: These people made it. You can make it too. Just give me my 
money.
  Earlier this year, a woman who crossed the Rio Grande on a smuggler's 
raft said the Biden administration was the reason that she and her 1-
year-old son attempted the dangerous journey at all.
  She said: ``That gave us the opportunity to come.''
  Some of the closest followers of the President's words and the 
administration's actions are the cartels and criminal organizations 
that get rich off of the backs of these migrants. Actually, it is 
pretty good money. Let's say, on average, these migrants and their 
families pay $5,000. It varies depending upon where you want to come 
from. If you want to come from a little farther away, it is a little 
more expensive. If you are a little closer to the border, it is a 
little cheaper. But let's say, on average, it is $5,000. If you 
multiply 1.2 million migrants times $5,000, that is a huge windfall to 
these criminal organizations. It is good business. It is a great 
business model.
  But migrants suffer at the hands of these cartels and human 
smugglers. They often arrive malnourished and are suffering from 
exposure. Many young women and girls have been sexually assaulted. Some 
of these young girls even arrive pregnant. There are hundreds of young 
women who are in Del Rio, under the bridge, who are now pregnant. And 
some of them don't make it at all.
  In Brooks County, TX, which is where Falfurrias is--it is an interior 
checkpoint by the Border Patrol--the practice of the smugglers, the 
coyotes, is to get people across the river, put them in a stash house, 
which you have probably seen some pictures of, and then, when the coast 
is clear, put them in a truck or some vehicle and drive them up the 
road, past the checkpoint. Before they get to the checkpoint, they say 
to the migrants: Get out of the car. Here is a gallon milk jug we have 
filled full of water. Here are some protein bars. We will meet you on 
the other side of the checkpoint.
  Now, some of the land around Falfurrias, where these checkpoints are 
located, is some of the most difficult territory you can possibly 
imagine, especially during the summer. Actually, the Vice President, 
when she was in the Senate--Kamala Harris--and I sponsored a bill to 
reimburse Brooks County, TX, for burying the bodies of unidentified 
migrants who died while trying to make that trip around the checkpoint 
in Falfurrias. They certainly couldn't afford it as they have a very 
modest tax base.
  The cartels are always looking for a business opportunity and an 
opportunity to make a sales pitch to very receptive ears. When they see 
the Biden administration releasing migrants into the interior, they use 
that information to convince others to spend the money it takes to make 
the dangerous journey north and, certainly, when the Biden 
administration releases people and tells them: ``Come back later for a 
court hearing'' or ``Here is a Notice to Report. When you get to where 
you are going, turn yourself in to ICE, Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement.'' Of course, it should be no surprise that many, many, 
many do not show up; they do not report; and they are never heard from 
again unless they commit a serious crime. Then it is discovered that 
they have illegally entered the United States and have failed to show 
up for their court hearings.
  The point is, once these people make it into the United States, you 
had better believe they are on the phone--with text messages, emails--
talking to their relatives back in their home countries. And what do 
they tell them? They say: I made it. I made it, and you can too.

  So they keep coming.
  Well, as I said, this is big business for the cartels. They get rich 
off of the migrants, of course.
  Second, when they flood the border with all of these migrants--these 
huge numbers--it overwhelms the Border Patrol just with unaccompanied 
children alone. In the Rio Grande Valley Sector, the Border Patrol 
Chief said he has had to take as many as 40 percent of the Border 
Patrol off of the border just to take care of and to process these 
unaccompanied children.
  And what do the cartels do? Well, they are not stupid. They are 
actually pretty smart, and they know, when the Border Patrol is not 
guarding the border, that this is a tremendous opportunity to move 
their illegal drugs across the border into the United States. This 
isn't just some conspiracy theory; this is a tried and true tactic of 
the narcos.
  Earlier this week, the administration admitted to congressional staff 
that this was a coordinated effort by the cartels to direct Haitian 
migrants to a single location and overwhelm the Customs and Border 
Protection. In other words, this entire surge was orchestrated by a 
bunch of criminals. They intentionally flooded one section of the 
border so that personnel from others would be moved. In fact, there 
were 400, I believe, that Chief Ortiz said he moved from other sectors 
of the Border Patrol to come to Del Rio to deal with this humanitarian 
crisis. You had better believe the cartels took advantage of the fact 
that they left holes in our security along the border in order to apply 
their poison and move more migrants across the border.
  Even though we are familiar with the tactic and we have seen it time 
and again, the administration still removed agents from checkpoints in 
the Del Rio sector to respond to the migrant surge, playing right into 
the hands of the cartels when they took agents off the frontline. The 
cartels are simply playing a game. Well, actually, they are playing 
three-dimensional chess while the Biden administration is playing 
checkers, and the cartels are continuing to get rich off of this 
trafficking in human beings and drugs. It is no surprise this shifting 
of resources is simply not sustainable. The administration continues to 
play Whac-A-Mole on the southern border. Every time progress is made on 
one crisis, another one pops up.
  The administration says they are trying to control the crisis in Del 
Rio, and there were early statements that they would make use of title 
42--a public health title--that gives the Border Patrol the authority 
to expel migrants based on concerns about spreading COVID-19 because 
these migrants are not tested; they are not vaccinated. Yet they are 
put on buses and sent off into the interior of the United States to 
contribute to the ongoing pandemic.
  The administration does have tools. Title 42 would have given them 
the authority to turn back the migrants, at least the adults, but now, 
with reports that the administration continues to release migrants into 
the United States, this backsliding will cause this situation to repeat 
itself. Maybe the next surge won't be in Del Rio. Maybe it will be in 
the Rio Grande Valley or El Paso or any other sector along the U.S.-
Mexico border.
  My State has 1,200 miles of common border with Mexico. There are 
2,000 miles of common border with the United States and Mexico. So my 
State is feeling the disproportionate negative impact on our border 
communities, and they need help. Without a clear, consistent, and 
effective approach across the entire border, Del Rio will become the 
new normal.
  There are a lot of questions we need to ask the administration, and I 
am glad that Chairman Durbin announced that we will have an oversight 
hearing of the Department of Homeland Security in the coming weeks. In 
particular, I want to know what the administration is doing with these 
15,000 individuals once they are processed by Border Patrol.
  When Mr. Mayorkas says the process is working, does that mean he is 
taking these migrants and placing them into the interior of the United 
States, contrary to the earlier statements that they were going to 
transport these migrants by airplane back to Haiti?
  I would like to know how many of these migrants are being returned

[[Page S6653]]

under title 42. How many of them are family units? How many have been 
released with a Notice to Report--this ``turn yourself in to ICE'' 
idea? How many of these individuals never report to ICE to commence 
their immigration court proceedings?
  Most importantly, is the DHS following through on their stated intent 
to expel or remove these individuals? That would be real deterrence. 
That would discourage more people from coming.
  But, if we find out that the administration and the Secretary have 
been lying to us--that instead of expelling these individuals they have 
been placing them into the interior of the United States, using this 
flawed catch-and-release approach--that is a serious problem. 
Transparency is key, and I hope we will have an opportunity to ask 
these questions under oath in the coming weeks.
  I would also like to know if the administration plans to appeal Judge 
Sullivan's ruling on the use of title 42. There is only about another 
week left before Judge Sullivan's order saying that title 42 is no 
longer available kicks in.
  It is important, especially while the pandemic is still upon us, that 
public health officials have this authority of title 42, because if 
title 42 isn't available, the Border Patrol tells me they fear they 
will lose control entirely.
  Title 42 has been important during the pandemic, and, as we know, the 
pandemic is not over.
  Unless Judge Sullivan's order is appealed and reversed, the U.S. 
Government will not be able to use this to expel most of the migrants, 
and there is no reason to believe that many people--particularly the 
cartels and others that benefit from illegal immigration--won't try to 
ride off of Judge Sullivan's most recent decision and obtain an 
injunction against the use of title 42.
  Without title 42, we will once again face overcrowded processing 
centers and even greater humanitarian crises.
  Unfortunately, the migrant surge is only a piece of the crisis in Del 
Rio. Those who depend on the ports of entry and the bridges at our U.S. 
international border are dying for lack of economic lifeline that that 
represents.
  And so the Biden administration has been closing these ports of entry 
without regard for the impact on these border communities. President 
Biden can't put the ``Open the Border'' sign out for illegal 
immigration, yet close the border for legitimate trade and travel. It 
defies common sense, and it is fundamentally unfair.
  Well, there is so much more we could say, but the Biden 
administration can't continue to enable these cartels or send signals 
to migrants encouraging them to come. This growing crisis isn't fair to 
law enforcement and it isn't fair to our border communities and it is 
not fair to the migrants.
  We need a clear strategy from the administration that leads to 
results and stops the humanitarian crisis on our own border.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
allowed to make a statement prior to the vote that is pending and that 
my full statement be allowed to be made prior to that.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.