[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 2, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H909-H912]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      SECURING THE SOUTHERN BORDER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 4, 2021, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Perry) for 30 minutes.


                             General Leave

  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
submit extraneous material.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1915

  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, ladies and gentlemen, yesterday, the House 
Freedom Caucus held an offsite unsanctioned hearing on our 
circumstances at the border.
  Now, we did that because we can't have a hearing right here in the 
Capitol. It is not allowed. The majority won't allow us to talk about 
it, doesn't want to talk about it themselves.
  We are expecting the State of the Union Address from the President in 
about a month, and I suspect he won't talk about it then either. But 
the American people want to talk about it. They want to know about it, 
and they deserve to know about it. It is happening in their country.
  Madam Speaker, Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution says that 
the President shall faithfully execute the laws. We have laws on the 
books, passed in the House, sent to the Senate, and ratified with a 
signature by the President of the United States that are being 
violated. They are being violated--not just disregarded--but actively 
violated by the President of the United States.
  Actively violated. What does that mean? What is that? What would you 
call it when the Chief Executive Officer, the President of the United 
States, who takes an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and the 
law of the land, not only disregards them but actively works to subvert 
them? What do you call that? I will let you decide that.
  We learned a lot of things at the hearing. It was a great time. One 
of the things that you might not know as the Speaker's designee, as 
citizens, is that there is an organization, the International 
Organization for Migration within the United Nations, the United 
Nations that your tax dollars pay for. We don't know how much it spends 
on IOM, but the IOM is counseling people to come across our border 
illegally, counseling them so they can subvert the laws that your duly-
elected legislature has passed, have been signed by the President and 
should be enforced by the executive branch.
  And you are paying. Your tax dollars are going to pay for people to 
break the law to come into your country illegally, up to 2 million--
probably over 2 million--that the border has touched in the last year. 
Who knows how many there are that they haven't even interacted with? 
And that is just 1 year.

[[Page H910]]

  Madam Speaker, how long? How long will this go on?
  Today is Groundhog Day. I am from Pennsylvania. We had the chief 
prognosticator, Punxsutawney Phil, who is predicting another 6 weeks of 
winter. Right? This is Groundhog Day in America for every citizen 
because every day when they wake up, it is not another 6 weeks, it is 
not another 6 minutes, it is not another 6 months. We hope, the good 
Lord, it is not going to be another 6 years. But this keeps happening. 
This keeps happening every single day. It is unacceptable.
  There was a movie made about it, which was a comedy, but this isn't a 
comedy. This is a tragedy. This is horrific for our country. It is 
undermining the very things that we stand for, and we ask, we beseech 
our President to make it end.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Mrs. 
Boebert).
  Mrs. BOEBERT. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
and the chairman of the Freedom Caucus. I thank him for leading on this 
issue and thank him for putting together a hearing yesterday so we 
could hear from people who are on the ground at the southern border.
  It was so difficult to look these Border Patrol agents in the eye and 
hear their frustration, to hear their hearts cry, to say that they feel 
useless in their capacity, in their jobs. They said that they used to 
work all day and go home feeling like they had accomplished something. 
But since Biden took office, that is no longer the case. Since January 
20, when the so-called President of the United States canceled 
construction of the border wall, since then these men and women have 
felt like they are not providing a service to the American people.
  When I was talking with these agents, one thing that they said was, 
This isn't a resource issue. We aren't here to ask for more money. We 
aren't here to ask for more personnel or more infrastructure. We just 
need policy. Policy solves this. Returning to the Trump-era policies 
solves this. Canceling construction of a border wall and still 
continuing to pay out Federal contracts, $5 million each day, is not 
solving this problem.
  Nearly 2 million illegal aliens coming into our country, and that is 
not even counting the hundreds of thousands of got-aways that are not 
included in that number.
  Madam Speaker, I understand that this is a Special Order, but I think 
it would do you and your party a service if you would lift your head 
and pay attention to what is being said on the House floor of the 
United States of Representatives. Maybe that is too much trouble to ask 
of you, Madam Speaker, but we are here talking about real issues that 
are impacting America and you still continue to sit and ignore what I 
am saying.
  I think that is very reflective of my colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle who have ignored what is going on at the southern border, who 
have ignored the children who are being trafficked by cartels, who have 
enriched the cartels, who have smuggled enough fentanyl to kill every 
American at least seven times over.
  Madam Speaker, this should concern you. As a mother of four boys, 
this certainly concerns me, and all we need to do is implement policy 
to secure the southern border, allow our Border Patrol agents to do 
their jobs, have someone in the White House who will faithfully execute 
the law and uphold it. We are here to hold people accountable who are 
not doing those things.
  Madam Speaker, let the Record show that you still have not glanced up 
one time to acknowledge this humanitarian crisis that is taking place 
in our country.
  Chairman Perry, I thank you so much for yielding on this issue.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Tiffany), 
a great member of our effort here.

  Mr. TIFFANY. Madam Speaker, I am assuming this mike is live. Is that 
correct? It is, okay. Thank you very much and thank you for sitting in 
the Chair tonight. We appreciate you being here during this period of 
time.
  I think the person that just appeared before us said he does not know 
what Republicans stand for. Republicans stand for secure borders. We 
stand for a strong national security. We stand for an America that we 
represent Americans first, and that is what we stand for here tonight.
  Madam Speaker, the Biden administration has turned the United States 
Government, our government, whether you are a Republican, Democrat, or 
any other affiliation, into the largest human trafficking operation in 
the history of the world. And it is so sad to see that happen. It 
doesn't have to be that way.
  Let's go back to the January 20, just a little over a year ago. What 
happened?
  Remain in Mexico was ended. Border wall construction was ended. 
Catch-and-release was initiated. And that is exactly what we have seen 
in our country now over the last year.
  I am going to share my story, if I may, tonight. I have been here 
less than 2 years. The first trip that I took was down to the Arizona 
border in June of 2020. I saw the successes down there. I saw local 
units of government working with State and Federal Government to secure 
our borders, to make sure that those that chose to come into our 
country legally, they would get in line, and they would go through the 
process. It was under control. I saw that border wall construction down 
in Arizona.
  Fast forward to just a little less than a year ago, April of 2021. I 
go down to the Rio Grande, out of control. And from what I understand, 
it is even worse now than April of 2021.
  From there, I went down to Panama at the behest of the Border Patrol 
saying, You should see that this is not just about Mexico, this is not 
just about the Northern Triangle. There are people coming from all over 
the world.
  So I went down to the Darien Gap in Panama at the end of May 2021, 
and what I saw was breathtaking. People coming out of the jungle, 
having to be wheelbarrowed to the medical tent. Hearing stories of the 
estimates that 10 percent of the people that tried to get through that 
jungle--some of the most dense jungle you will find on all of the face 
of the Earth--10 percent of the people were dying as a result of the 
actions that a President took on January 20, 2021.
  The border is open. That was the message to those people. And it has 
wreaked havoc on people's lives that thought, If I can just make it to 
America. Many of them have not done that.
  And as the chairman said, we have got an organization that is getting 
fully funded by the United Nations. What?
  We put 25 percent of the money into the United Nations?
  Mr. PERRY. Right.
  Mr. TIFFANY. The International Organization for Migration, IOM, or 
sometimes it goes by OIM, I saw them at the Rio Grande. I saw them at 
the Darien Gap. I saw them at Fort McCoy when the Afghan evacuees came 
to our country. IOM, every step of the way, giving people remittances, 
giving them debit cards, being funded by you and me, the American 
public.
  We are funding those people coming here to the United States of 
America at the behest of an organization that believes in open borders 
and does not believe in the sovereignty not just of the United States, 
but of any country on the face of this Earth.
  It is time for our Committee on the Judiciary, Chairman Nadler, to 
have hearings about what this organization is all about. Now, I am not 
going to hold my breath expecting that to happen, but that is what 
should happen. And if the American people want to know the truth, you 
are going to have to take action in this election year of 2022, if you 
want this to change. Because it is evident by the Secretary, as 
designated by President Biden, Secretary Mayorkas, he is going to do 
nothing about it.
  We heard it in the video that we saw recently, when the Border Patrol 
agents proudly stood up and they said, You are the reason, Secretary 
Mayorkas, for this problem, and you could stop it now.
  So here is what we stand for--to the gentleman that was here 
earlier--here is what we stand for:
  We stand for legal immigration. I think about members of my family, 
my extended family, that came into this country recently, legally. Did 
it the right way; paid the money. And they didn't pay the money to a 
cartel. They paid it to the United States Government to do it the right 
way. That is

[[Page H911]]

what we stand for as legal immigration.
  We stand for stopping the flow of drugs that are killing Americans in 
record numbers.
  We stand for respecting our borders. We stand with our Border Patrol 
and all those people that are in security that just want to make sure 
that people come into our country legally.
  I stand for an America that is great. I stand with America first.
  And if the people of the United States of America want to bring this 
under control, this scourge that has hit our country as a result of the 
actions of a President on January 20, 2021, you need to stand with us 
in November of 2022.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman, and so well said.
  Look, we all want to help. All of us want to help. We earned this 
position to speak on behalf of our constituents in our home districts. 
We all want to help; America is the most generous country on the 
planet. And we know that there are people that are wanting, that are 
hurting, that are seeking a better opportunity.
  We have a process here. If you ask the American people to obey the 
law, why is it too hard to ask people that aren't American citizens to 
obey the law? Yet, that is exactly what is happening. That is exactly 
what's happening. It is unacceptable.

                              {time}  1930

  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia 
(Mrs. Greene).
  Mrs. GREENE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, maybe Mr. Perry and I can 
discuss together and maybe he can help me with some things. I am new to 
Congress. I am a freshman Member of Congress. I have been pretty 
shocked.
  I thought Congress' role was to create a budget for the United States 
for our government, and we are about to run out of money in just a few 
weeks. The 117th Congress hasn't produced a budget to keep the 
government open. It is appalling to me as a business owner that we are 
even in this situation.
  Private businesses go out of business when we are not able to produce 
a budget that makes a profit to be able to pay our employees, to be 
able to buy our materials and continue. That is something I am 
struggling with.
  Something I am also struggling with, Mr. Perry, is that I heard the 
Democrats present a bill today that they are very much wanting to pass, 
what is called the America COMPETES Act, having to do with our American 
jobs and economy in relation to China.
  But here is the real trouble for me, and this is where I struggle, 
American jobs are so important, but yet our border is wide open and 
being invaded every single day. I just can't comprehend why Congress 
doesn't pass legislation and write into law that illegal aliens should 
be deported because illegal aliens are competing with American jobs. I 
find that to be a major problem, especially being in the construction 
industry where we have to employ legal Americans to do these jobs.
  That doesn't seem to be the case, and maybe you can help me out here.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I don't know if I can help her with that. I 
was also in business, we had a mechanical contracting business. It is 
hard, heavy work, and we too hired American citizens. We had to have 
documentation for the folks that we hired.
  Wouldn't it be great though, since you brought it up, the COMPETES 
Act, we all want to compete better with China. We know that they are 
our adversary. They consider us the enemy. First of all, the COMPETES 
Act doesn't do that, it doesn't do anything to secure America from an 
aggressive bellicose China.
  Shouldn't the COMPETES Act be about a competitive America? What about 
the competition that American citizens are in in their own country for 
their own jobs with people that are here illegally. Shouldn't the 
COMPETES Act be about making sure people don't come here illegally?
  Let's face it, some folks already talked about the policy that is--
the Border Patrol said, we need the policy. Policy is in place. Laws 
are in place. Article II, section 3 says the President will faithful 
execute. But if the President doesn't faithfully execute the laws that 
are in place, whether we call the COMPETES Act something against China 
or whether the COMPETES Act is about American citizens who have to 
compete in their own country against foreigners, if no one is going to 
faithfully execute it, it is not going to matter.
  Mrs. GREENE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, absolutely. Then we learned 
yesterday that Border Patrol agents are completely demoralized; that 
they are not even capable of doing the job that they were hired to do, 
that our United States Government hired them to do because their 
authorities are not allowing them to do it.
  They are not able to deport illegal aliens so that our American 
people can have jobs. No. Our American people are having to compete 
with them. But even worse what we learned is about fentanyl. Fentanyl 
coming from China. That is what bothered me when I was listening today 
when the Democrats debated this bill with us. Only in this COMPETES Act 
bill it mentioned fentanyl only 10 times.
  Yet, it is Chinese fentanyl coming from Communist China that is 
killing young people. It is the number one cause of death with 
Americans age 18 to 45. That is a tragedy, but yet we have been 
controlled by COVID-19. Children in schools are forced to wear masks; 
people are told they have to take vaccines. It is totally out of 
control, but yet it is fentanyl from China.
  Here is something else. Maybe Mr. Perry can help me out with this 
since I am new here. Why doesn't the Joe Biden administration--why 
don't the Democrats care about doing something about fentanyl, a 
horrible poison coming in from China, but yet they care more about 
coral reefs?
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I think that is a great question. There are 
over 100,000 dead from overdose due to fentanyl coming through our 
southern border from Communist China, and yet we are locked down in 
many places. In the United States in our capital city, people from 
across the country can't come here and get a meal. You can't even come 
into the Capitol.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde), 
maybe he can answer his colleague's question because I sure can't.
  Mr. CLYDE. Madam Speaker, I just think that the Democrats just don't 
know how to govern this city. That is just a huge issue. We can see 
that with what is happening on the southern border.
  President Biden's raging border crisis and the harm it inflicts on 
our great country, the dangerous catastrophes that I simply cannot 
ignore. We are talking about over 2 million illegal crossings in a 
single year, thousands of pounds of fentanyl seized, as we just talked 
about, and an unknown number of illegal migrants, some with criminal 
records, some on the terrorist watch list, released into hundreds of 
communities across the Nation.
  Yet, out of cowardice or complacency, or both, the Democrats remain 
silent on record high levels of illegal migrant crossings and drug 
seizures at our southern border.
  My Republican colleagues and I have responded to the left's inaction 
with letters demanding answers, with legislation, and with continuous 
coverage of what is really happening under Biden's watch.
  Furthermore, my House Freedom Caucus colleagues, led by my good 
friend, Chairman Perry, held a hearing on the Biden administration's 
open border policies and inadequate border security just yesterday.

  During this hearing we heard numerous witnesses describe the fire of 
chaos at the border and the policies that have fueled the flames.
  Many Americans know about the ongoing border crisis and its root 
causes--Joe Biden and his crisis-ridden, failed administration, with a 
33 percent approval rating. Yet, I don't believe the American people 
are aware of the United Nations' involvement that aids migrants on 
their expedition to our southern border.
  According to one of the witnesses that participated in our hearing 
yesterday, Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studies, UN 
agencies such as the International Office of Migration and the United 
Nations Commissioner for Refugees and their counterparts are providing 
assistance, including financial assistance to help migrants on their 
journey, where they

[[Page H912]]

will eventually attempt to illegally cross the United States border.
  This witness further explained that the United Nations' cash-based 
intervention program supplies reusable plastic cash cards worth 
hundreds of dollars each, and cash-filled envelopes, among additional 
resources to individuals on the migrant trail from South America to 
Texas. This is unbelievable, illogical, criminal, and just plain wrong.
  The United Nations is actively subverting the security of our 
southern border. Just think about that statement for a moment. Just 
think about it. But guess again who is funding the bill. It is the 
American taxpayer.
  The United States contributes billions of dollars to the United 
Nations every year, meaning our citizens are paying for fraudulent UN 
programs that contribute to the very border crisis that is threatening 
their lives and livelihoods.
  It is also absolutely ludicrous that our country is funding programs 
and then the UN simultaneously derails our national security, 
sovereignty, and freedoms.
  As our national debt just hit $30 trillion, this senseless spending 
isn't just fiscally irresponsible, it is also morally bankrupt, as it 
enables illegal migrants, human traffickers, drug smugglers, dangerous 
criminals, and terrorists to take advantage of the Biden 
administration's open border policies.
  Well, enough is enough. We must defund all these UN programs, not 
defund the police, but defund the UN programs that encourage foreigners 
to violate our laws, breach our border, jeopardize our Nation, and put 
Americans last.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I inquire with the Chair the time 
remaining.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Pennsylvania has 5 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Roy), who has been on the front lines of this issue.
  Madam Speaker, I don't want to take from his time, but I just want to 
add this. People often say to me: What would you cut? What would you 
cut? Well, you know what I would cut from the State and foreign ops 
budget, money going to the UN to pay for people to come to our country 
and cross our border illegally. How about cutting that, sir.
  Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, I would agree with my friend from 
Pennsylvania. I appreciate him having this time on the floor, and I 
appreciate my colleagues for coming down.
  The State of Texas is on the front lines under siege, the communities 
that I represent, dealing with the scourge of open borders, the dangers 
that are provided by cartels, and the illegal elements that come across 
the border on a daily basis--and this body does nothing about it.
  This week we are going to entertain legislation that will do nothing 
to combat China. Nothing to stop China from continuing to run rampant 
around the world, violating human rights, undermining our national 
security. We are going to put together a nonsense bill that is a Green 
New Deal agenda, a pacify and appease China bill. We should be saying 
what the woman from Texas said to the coach of the Miracle on Ice 
hockey team: Beat those Commie bastards.
  That is what we ought to be saying. That is what we ought to be 
doing. But no, no, no, here we sit doing nothing. But you know what we 
are doing, we are sleeping while our border is wide open. But worse 
than that, the Biden administration and Secretary Mayorkas are taking 
purposeful steps to open our border, disregard the law, and to fail to 
faithfully execute the laws of the United States. Our country is in 
danger and Americans are dying.
  Americans are dying specifically because of the actions of the 
Secretary of Homeland Security. That is what is actually occurring. We 
have fence rusting in fields in Texas. We have contracts that aren't 
being paid. In fact, we are paying people not to work--not to build the 
fences.
  We are not using migrant protection protocols. We are not using Title 
42. We are releasing people into the United States against Federal law. 
We are not doing anything to actually secure the border and, therefore, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security should be impeached for it.
  I will make one final point. Jen Psaki, the White House press 
secretary, stood at a podium and laughed about our commentary about the 
borders being open and our streets being unsafe. She lied. She lied 
about Border Patrol agents whipping migrants. It was purposeful and it 
was done to divide our Nation by race, the same kind of division that 
has the President of the United States choosing the race and the sex of 
the Supreme Court justice. This is the same man who blocked Janice 
Rogers Brown, blocked a Black woman Supreme Court justice. He blocked 
an Hispanic Miguel Estrada because he was Hispanic and because he is 
not the right kind of Hispanic.
  That is the truth. That is the truth of a President and an 
administration that wants to divide our county by race, they want to 
lie about our Border Patrol agents, and they don't want to do a dang 
thing about it.

  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, if Mr. Roy would join me in a colloquy in 
the remaining 2 minutes. Mr. Roy sent a letter asking for the report on 
these Border Patrol agents that had been suspended for allegedly 
whipping these Haitian illegal crossers. Of course it never happened. 
Even the photographer that took the pictures said that it never 
happened.
  The only thing that was abused or whipped was the truth and the 
reputation of our fine Border Patrol agents. Where does that stand 
right now?
  Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, I am glad the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
asked the question. It stands nowhere. They are not giving us any 
report. They said it would be a couple weeks away. I can tell you why. 
Because the report will demonstrate there was no whipping. It was a 
lie.
  They owe an apology to those Border Patrol agents who are being 
abused on the front lines, having guns fired at them, dealing with 
COVID. No apology.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, no apology. What about for lying to the 
American people and creating this division. Didn't our Chief Executive 
run and say that he was going to unite the country? Didn't he say that? 
He was going to unite the country. Isn't this an opportunity. Release 
the report--look, none of us are perfect, we all fall short. I think 
that is one thing we can agree on.
  Mr. ROY. Amen. Amen.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, when you fall short, is there something 
wrong with apologizing for your failures?
  Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, no. And the President should apologize for 
that and the President should apologize to every parent of a dead 
American kid who takes Xanax and dies with it laced with fentanyl 
because we have open borders--and the Secretary knows it.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, the Secretary knows it and the Secretary 
just went to the border and talked to Border Patrol. What did they tell 
him?
  Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, the Border Patrol was saying: What are we 
doing? We are doing nothing. That is what the Border Patrol is saying. 
But my colleagues on the other side of the aisle wouldn't know that 
because they never have hearings inviting the people on the front lines 
to talk, and actually hold the Secretary accountable.
  Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues from the Freedom 
Caucus for coming and talking about what is happening on the border. I 
know that the left and the majority party in this House refuse to do 
it, certainly the President refuses to do it, but we don't refuse to do 
it. We are going to do it because our country is in peril; our families 
are in peril; our communities are in peril, and somebody has got to say 
something and do something about it.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President. Members are also 
reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair and not to a perceived 
viewing audience.

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