[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 188 (Tuesday, October 26, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S7350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            BORDER SECURITY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, 1.7 million people, that is the record-
shattering number of illegal immigrants detained along our southern 
border in just the last 12 months. In 1 year, 1.7 million people tried 
to take advantage of the Biden administration's intentionally unsecure 
border and come here illegally. This is the most ever recorded.
  There are 11 States whose populations are smaller than 1.7 million. 
Of the 1.7 million, more than 1 million were single adults. That is 
nearly two-thirds--not family units, not unaccompanied children, but 
adults on their own.
  In many cases, this is not about escaping disaster or persecution; 
this is about wanting a better job in America. It is less about 
emergency refugees and more about economics. Legal immigration in 
pursuit of a better future is a core part of our country. It reflects 
our values, and it makes us stronger.
  We are a generous country that wants to welcome ambitious new 
Americans who come here the right way. But it is beyond disingenuous 
for the Biden administration to pretend that huge numbers of people who 
simply want better jobs are emergency refugees. Those are two entirely 
different things.
  In this 12-month span, authorities arrested people from 160 different 
countries. In this 12-month span, authorities arrested people from 160 
different countries.
  Think about that. The U.S. recognizes 195 countries in the entire 
world. Customs and Border Protection ran into people from all but 35 of 
the entire number of countries in the world.
  On numerous occasions, these people have told reporters they are 
coming specifically--specifically--because of President Biden. His 
campaign rhetoric and his policy decisions have directly--directly--
created this crisis.
  Late last December, about a month before the President took office, 
he literally said ``the last thing we need'' would be if his 
administration pursued policy changes that caused us to ``end up with 2 
million people on our border.''
  That was the President last December. That is how President-elect 
Biden himself defined failure on our border last December: 2 million 
people showing up.
  Well, that is exactly what he has brought about, all because of the 
liberal misapprehension that a weak and porous border is a 
compassionate border. It is not.
  Even now, even as President Biden faces the exact definition of 
failure, which he himself laid out, the administration won't change 
course. A few weeks ago, Secretary Mayorkas released radical new 
guidance that essentially tries to create amnesty by executive fiat.
  This Mayorkas memo told ICE that, now, being in the country illegally 
``should not alone be the basis'' for making arrests--a baseline policy 
of no enforcement, with exceptions for certain extenuating 
circumstances.
  Last week, before the Judiciary Committee, under questioning from 
Senator Cornyn, even the President's own nominee to CBP had to admit 
that nonenforcement policies are a magnet that make the problem worse.
  Even before the new Mayorkas memo, over the whole last 12 months, 
immigration arrests in the interior of the country fell--fell--to their 
lowest level in more than a decade. ICE arrested half as many people 
this past year as they did on average in previous years.
  Put two and two together: CBP encounters at the border are at 
historic highs, but ICE enforcement is down to a decade low--encounters 
at the border at a historic high, but enforcement down to a decade low.
  This doesn't make any sense, unless we are looking at functional 
amnesty through nonenforcement.
  But even now, Democrats keep pushing more new policies to incentivize 
illegal immigration. Their next reckless taxing-and-spending spree 
proposes to double down on Democrats' new monthly welfare deposits that 
can flow directly to people who are here illegally. This is a Democrat-
created crisis from top to bottom.

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