[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 8, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, we have a true crisis at our southern 
border. Those in Washington who refuse to use the word ``crisis'' to 
describe the humanitarian and security challenges must accept the 
disastrous consequences of an open-border policy.
  Just look at the numbers from the Department of Homeland Security. 
More than 2 million illegal immigrants were caught attempting to cross 
the border last year, and if the Biden administration doesn't get 
serious about securing the border, we are on pace to repeat or exceed 
this troubling figure in 2022. In December, 178,840 illegal immigrants 
were apprehended attempting to cross along this stretch of the border, 
making it the highest total for that month in Department of Homeland 
Security history.
  I have been here before describing this chaos, but the reality is, it 
continues to escalate while the administration refuses to take action 
to stop illegal immigration.
  Unsurprisingly, we are seeing the tensions between the Biden 
administration and Border Patrol officials boil over. These men and 
women have answered the call to protect and serve. They put their lives 
at risk to enforce the law and arrest people illegally crossing the 
border, only to have the administration approve the release of the very 
criminals the officers locked up. This betrayal by the administration 
is creating low morale, with some Border Patrol officers choosing to 
leave the job rather than support this lawlessness and insanity.
  Instead of preventing illegal drugs from entering our country, border 
agents are spending time processing paperwork for illegal immigrants.
  Do you know who else is seeing this paperwork? TSA agents. The 
Department of Homeland Security is allowing these lawbreakers to board 
airplanes using their Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest 
warrants as identification at TSA checkpoints. This is totally absurd. 
It is a reckless policy that threatens the safety of air travelers and 
all citizens. The administration must end this practice.
  The message coming from the White House is: Our southern borders are 
open. All are welcome.
  This has been a green light for immigrants since day one. It started 
with migrant numbers increasing along the southern border as they 
awaited Biden's immigration action, and now we see the result. We have 
experienced record border crossings, overflowing detention centers, and 
the release of single adult migrants into the United States, among many 
other many problems. That is how it is going.
  It is not just citizens from Central America and Mexico who are 
taking advantage of this foolish generosity; people from Syria, Turkey, 
Russia, Pakistan, Cuba, Haiti, and India are illegally entering the 
United States along the southern border.
  I have been here before on the Senate floor sounding the alarm about 
the threat this dangerous and indefensible approach to immigration and 
border security is having on our country. It is threatening our 
sovereignty and undermining the rule of law.
  Instead of implementing commonsense steps to secure the border, the 
administration has prioritized ``border czar'' Vice President Harris's 
mission to discover the ``root causes'' of this crisis while the number 
of illegal immigrants entering our country is reaching historic levels.
  The reality is, this truly is a crisis of the Biden administration's 
own making. The President reversed policies that were curbing illegal 
immigration, like the construction of a border wall and the ``Remain in 
Mexico'' policy.
  We must provide Border Patrol agents with the tools and resources to 
successfully accomplish their job. That involves enforcing the laws and 
holding illegal immigrants accountable for their unlawful actions, not 
helping them board airplanes to travel around the country.
  This is a matter of national security. My GOP colleagues and I are 
ready to get back to the effective strategies we had for controlling 
the border under President Trump, and it is time President Biden gets 
on board.
  With that, I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. BALDWIN. I ask unanimous consent that the scheduled vote occur 
immediately.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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