[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 2, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S498-S501]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            BORDER SECURITY

  Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. President, last weekend, I spent time down at the 
southwest border, an area the Presiding Officer is very familiar with.
  This time, I was in the Rio Grande Valley. The Rio Grande Valley area 
has the highest area of illegal crossings across our entire 2,000-mile 
southwest border. In fact, it is interesting to be able to track just 
the movement across that border.
  This is from 2014 to 2022. It is what has happened along this area of 
the border, just this one specific area, what is called the Rio Grande 
Valley area. It is around McAllen and Brownsville--that area. This 
shows, each year, what happens.
  It starts in October, way down here with the numbers low. In some 
years, it came up, but just about every year, it went up and down. It 
was down significantly in November and December because, again, in 
Central America, they celebrate Christmas as well, and a lot of folks 
want to head back home, even, or be there. So immigration doesn't cross 
from south to north significantly in most years in October, November, 
December, January, except for this really odd line right here that 
seems really out of balance with all the rest of the lines from the 
last decade.
  It is this line right here. This line is actually from last year. 
This line shows a number of 2 million people who illegally crossed our 
southwest border last year whom we know of--2 million. That is this 
line.
  Typically, every other year, it is way down low when you get to 
October, November, December. That is over here. Here are the low 
months--but not this year. It has already started way up high. In fact, 
what is interesting is, for October, November, December, if you take 
any one of those months, there are as many people illegally crossing 
the border in the Rio Grande Valley in October, November, or December 
as over the last 3 years in that month combined.
  Let me run that past everybody again. If you take any month--October, 
November, December--there were higher illegal crossings that we know of 
than over the last 3 years combined in any year that we know of.

[[Page S499]]

  My fear is, as some people have said, we have a problem on our 
southern border. I actually believe the Biden administration's policy 
is working exactly as they designed it to work--exactly. They created a 
structure in a system to allow as many people as possible to be able to 
cross our southern border, and it is working exactly.
  Why would I say that? Well, in the first days of the Biden 
Presidency, when you stop border wall construction, when you announce 
they are going to change dramatically every policy in how we are 
interdicting individuals, when they cancel all foreign agreements with 
Mexico and with Central America that are actually limiting the number 
of people there, and then you don't replace them with anything, you 
have got to know that this is what is going to happen. Then, a year 
later, when nothing has changed, this is what is going to happen.
  The agents in the Rio Grande Valley whom I talked to anticipate that 
by the time we get to the summer, we are going to be at 9,000 people a 
day who are illegally crossing our southern border--a day. There are 
many months in the past that we didn't have that many people crossing 
the border illegally. They are anticipating, on this trend line, 9,000 
a day who will be coming. So far, what has the Biden administration 
done? They have stuck with their plan because it is doing exactly what 
they thought it was going to do.
  I am amazed at the number of people I have talked to who have grown 
numb to what is happening on our southern border, and the media has 
just looked away and said: We have talked about how bad it is for a 
year; that is old news now. So they no longer talk about the 2 million 
people who have illegally crossed our border.
  But, in going down last weekend and spending time with the Border 
Patrol, the CBP, ICE, and other leaders who were there, they could tell 
me firsthand the stories from last week, late at night, of the five 
Syrians they picked up who were crossing the southern border in the 
brush. Those 5 Syrians were part of the count of the 2 million people 
from last year that will now be who knows how big this year. They told 
me directly the story of a Nicaraguan single adult male whom they 
picked up crossing the border in the Rio Grande Valley, who told them 
under questioning that he was a member of the Nicaraguan military. 
Within 48 hours, he was released into the United States, and they were 
furious about it. Their question was very, very simple. A single adult 
male, member of a foreign military is now somewhere in our country, and 
they have no idea why, because they are doing their job but the 
policies that they have to work with right now of how many people they 
have to be able to cut loose, and how hard it is to be able to detain 
people, and the limiting policies of the Biden administration are 
fulfilling exactly what they are designed to do.

  There has been a lot of conversation on the floor, and I have brought 
several times to this body the construction of the border barriers down 
in the southwest. This is something that members of the Border Patrol 
have asked for again and again and again: Close the gaps. They always 
say: Close the gaps.
  There are these massive gaps where it was under construction. On 
January 20th of last year, construction stopped. Over and over again, 
people have said: Close the gaps. Close the gaps--those gaps we have to 
patrol.
  Let me give you an example. When I got down there, they had now 
announced, by the way, they are closing the gaps. And everyone went: 
Great, the gaps are being closed.
  But I got down there to be able to look at the gaps being closed, and 
let me show you what it looks like. This is an aerial shot when we were 
up in a helicopter with CBP, getting a chance to be able to literally 
watch people crossing the border illegally. From this aerial shot, I 
hope you can see. This was the existing wall that was constructed 
during the Trump administration--this tall, 30-foot wall with the anti-
climb portion on it. Here is where the construction stopped. It was all 
the way through here, and then there was a gap, and then they had 
started another section here. They were getting ready to be able to put 
up the other sections, but they had to stop.
  The Biden administration has now announced that they are going to 
close the gaps. I hope you don't miss it. They have announced the gaps 
are closed. Can you see this tiny, little picket fence on the bottom 
here? Probably not. This tiny, little picket fence that is at the 
bottom, that is what they say is ``close the gaps.'' So it is no longer 
just open. They have a tiny, little decorative fence there, and that is 
their announced ``we have closed the gap.''
  That is not going to deter anyone. They know it full well. It is not 
designed to deter anyone. It is designed to allow the administration to 
say, ``We closed the gap,'' and hope no one looks at it because that 
gap will fulfill exactly what it is designed to fulfill; that is, to 
allow people in, not keep people out.
  That doesn't help the Border Patrol. And they know it because it is 
not designed to be able to help the Border Patrol, and they know it.
  Federal courts require the Biden administration to put in place what 
was a Trump policy before dealing with those individuals coming to seek 
asylum in the United States. It is called MPP. Some people call it 
``Remain in Mexico.'' This policy basically said, if you want to be 
able to come into the country, you had to pause, get in line, register 
so we know who you are. We would set up an orderly process, and then 
you would have to stay in the border region until it was time for your 
hearing to occur. There was a dramatic drop in individuals who were 
illegally crossing our border because they knew they wouldn't 
automatically get in--what is called catch and release--that they 
wouldn't just come across, be released into the country, and wait 2 
years until the hearing. Two years, that is what it used to be, to be 
able to wait until the hearing, until they shifted to the ``Remain in 
Mexico'' policy, and they said you have to stay here in the border 
region until it is time for your hearing. Within months they would come 
forward, they would get their hearing and get to make their 
determination, whether they fulfilled the asylum or not.

  The Federal courts have said to the Biden administration: You have to 
put that policy back in place. So after months of delay, they have 
agreed to do it. It is one of the places I wanted to stop in and see.
  This is an overview of the Brownsville location for the ``Remain in 
Mexico'' policy. This overview shows the setup that they have created 
there in Brownsville to do the hearings. There is an intake area for 
processing, a gathering area, a medical area. There are six courtrooms 
that are set up. The courtrooms that are set up are all set up as large 
courtrooms where up to 22 different defendants could be here with their 
attorneys. All the courtrooms have videoconferencing set up as a full-
on courtroom for that location. There are, in each location, 120 
individual office spaces set up--120--where individuals that had 
illegally crossed the border could meet with their lawyer. So 6 
courtrooms, 120 meeting spaces, all the ancillary space--this is a 
massive complex.
  When I was down there last week, they have, so far, handled three 
people--three--and they weren't sure how many they were going to handle 
this week. Why? Because on the ``Remain in Mexico'' policy--MPP, 
whatever you want to be able to call it--they have created a system 
with so many exceptions in it that they could tell the Federal courts, 
``Yes, we are doing it,'' but, in reality, they are not--realizing that 
this month they have had about 45,000 people illegally cross the border 
in this zone just in January, but only 3 they made eligible to go 
through this process, of the 45,000.
  Why? Well, they made a whole set of stipulations. They said: If you 
come in a family group, you are not eligible to come in here. If you 
declare that you have a medical issue of any type, no matter how minor 
it may be, you are not eligible to be able to go through this program. 
If you are LGBT, you are not eligible to be able to go through this 
program. If you are 75 years or older, you are not eligible to be able 
to go through this program. If you are Nicaraguan, you are not eligible 
to go through this program. If you are Venezuelan, you are not eligible 
to go through this program.
  Do you get the hint? They set so many criteria up to be able to list 
out--no, no, no, no, no, no--that the poor three people who were left 
who

[[Page S500]]

didn't fit in those categories, they are going through. By the way, 
each person is given 24 hours with their lawyer before they actually 
have to go through this process, so counsel could give them the full 
list of all the items that they could select and say: If you meet any 
of the criteria, verbally, if you just say you meet any of these 
criteria, then you are out. And what does ``you are out'' mean? You are 
released into the United States, and you await your hearing.
  Remember when I said that during the Trump administration those 
hearings would take up to 2 years before you got to an asylum hearing? 
Well, when I met with DHS officials this week, it is not 2 years 
anymore; it is now 6 years. You illegally cross the border, you get a 
paper, they release you into the country, you get on a bus or on a 
plane, literally go anywhere you want to go in the country, and set a 
date 6 years from now to show up at your court hearing. That is on 
average, by the way. Some are longer than that.
  Now, you tell me, what happens if someone illegally crosses the 
border, they are processed within 48 hours, given a document that says 
you can be here 6 years to go anywhere you want to go in the country--
what do you think they are going to do when they pick up their cell 
phone? I will tell you what is happening. They are texting a family 
member back home. They are texting friends back home and saying: I 
got in, and here is how I did it. Come join me.

  And they are--2 million people last year. And the response so far has 
been decorative fencing, what they actually call guardrails in the 
area, and empty courtrooms.
  By the way, this was the middle of the day when I was there--empty 
courtrooms with no one being processed, all so they can say they did 
something.
  American taxpayers paid millions of dollars for this setup so they 
could say they are doing something when they are actually doing 
nothing, getting the results exactly as they planned.
  Oh, but, of course, everyone is being required to be vaccinated 
correctly before they reach the country. Of course, everyone is being 
required to be vaccinated, except they are not.
  If you are a legal green card holder, you are required to be 
vaccinated. President Biden is trying to vaccinate everyone in private 
businesses, in the Federal workforce, Federal contractors. Members of 
the military are being kicked out of the military this week if they are 
not vaccinated. Oh, but if you cross the border illegally, you are 
given the option whether you want a vaccine or not. It is offered to 
you for free, but it is not mandated; it is voluntary.
  What is the result? Well, some of the results are pretty obvious. The 
numbers are skyrocketing. As I showed you before, these are record 
numbers of individuals crossing the border illegally. That is seeable.
  Let me tell you what is not seeable at this point. The drug cartels 
in Mexico are getting richer and richer and richer. They are moving 
record amounts of drugs across our border, making an incredible amount 
of money for the cartels, continuing to strengthen those drug cartels 
on the border. But each of the individuals who cross our southern 
border also pay a fee to the cartels--each of them.
  You don't cross the southern border into the United States without 
crossing through one of the cartel areas, and each one of them has to 
pay. It is somewhere around $4,000 to $30,000 per person to be able to 
cross through Mexico and into the United States--$4,000 if you are from 
Guatemala; $30,000 if you are from China.
  And none of us should be surprised.
  Just last year, people from more than 100 countries crossed into the 
United States, that we picked up and interdicted, illegally--more than 
100 countries. This common conversation about, well, it is all folks 
from Central America--there are a lot of folks from Central America 
coming, but it is people from over 100 countries, including those five 
Syrians who were picked up just last week.
  Do some rough math. If people pay between $4,000 and $30,000 a person 
and there were 2 million people who crossed illegally last year that we 
know of, that is $10 billion paid to the cartels--$10 billion. And our 
open borders are allowing the cartels to rake in that kind of cash.
  When I visited with the Border Patrol and got a chance to be able to 
talk to them, their morale is awful, as you can imagine. They are doing 
their job. They are busting it every day, but they are frustrated. They 
are frustrated at the policies that they are having to enforce, when 
they are used to being law enforcement folks enforcing our southern 
border, and now, they are hotel check-in staff who are just greeting 
people at the border, processing them, and releasing them into the 
country.
  That is not what they signed up for. They signed up to protect our 
country, and, literally, they cannot. In this case, law enforcement is 
handcuffed, and the criminals are released. It shouldn't be that way, 
and they know it.
  Usually, October, November, December, and January are lower months--
not so this time. They are exhausted from a record amount of illegal 
crossings last year, and they were hoping to get a bit of a break. But 
with the policies in place, it didn't matter how cold it is. People are 
still coming.
  On top of all of that, here is what else happened last month, just 
one example. This is a Border Patrol vehicle that had just interdicted 
a group of folks at the border. I don't know whether you can see it or 
not, but that is a giant bullet hole in the front of it, and that is 
another bullet hole in it, and that is another bullet hole right behind 
the passenger window. By the way, at this particular moment, they had 
actually already picked somebody up, and they were sitting in that back 
seat.
  The Border Patrol every day risk their lives to be able to enforce 
the law. And for this group of folks they pick up, within hours, they 
are released, and they are somewhere in the country waiting on a court 
hearing 6 years from now, if they ever show up for the hearing.
  Do you want to know how frustrated this group of law enforcement is? 
They risk their lives for nothing because this is the policy of the 
Biden administration.
  This is not an accident. This is what it has brought. As they run 
through, tonight, the heavy brush, along a very cold Texas-Mexico 
border, they will pick people up, and they will faithfully do their job 
because they have over and over again, only to have a policy that cuts 
them loose.
  How long?
  Listen, Border Patrol agents have families too. Their families matter 
as well. And all this talk about we are going to be compassionate to 
the families of people who are illegally crossing the border--what we 
are really doing as a policy is enriching the cartels in Mexico; 
encouraging people to make a very dangerous journey; releasing them 
into the country with not a legal status, to live in the shadows of our 
Nation; and putting law enforcement at risk for their life.
  This should not be.
  And while the country just seems to move on and ignore the chaos at 
our border, this is still what is going on tonight, and it needs to 
stop. This administration has the ability to change policy and to 
change direction on our southern border, and they are not. They are not 
doing it on purpose, and the results are chaos. I wish I were wrong on 
this.
  There is something called title 42. Title 42 means we have a COVID 
epidemic happening. OK. And under a COVID epidemic or under any kind of 
epidemic, law enforcement is able to take some individuals, single 
adults from certain countries, and turn them around and send them right 
back in and say: You can't come in because of the epidemic.
  We have enormous numbers of those individuals coming, and right now 
some of those individuals from some of those countries are being turned 
around, thankfully.
  And when I have asked DHS: What is your plan for those individuals 
once the COVID epidemic ends? And it does, God willing, end one day. 
When it ends, what is your plan?
  We are now 13 months into this administration, and they still have no 
plan. That is not just my guess; that is my point-blank asking: What is 
the plan to turn people around once the COVID epidemic ends for that 
small group of folks that you are turning around?

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  They don't have one. It doesn't take 13 months to be able to 
determine what you are going to do. That just tells me the plan is, 
when the COVID epidemic ends, those folks get in too.
  When does this end? Who is going to stand up and help us?
  Just enforce the laws of our country.
  I yield the floor.

                          ____________________