[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 73 (Tuesday, May 3, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S2255]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mr. President, the Biden border crisis is still getting worse. In 
March, U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered 221,303 
individuals attempting to cross our southern border illegally--221,303. 
That is an average of more than 7,100 individuals per day. As of April, 
that number had gotten even worse. An April 26 memo from the Secretary 
of Homeland Security reported:

       In the past 3 weeks, CBP [our Customs and Border Patrol] 
     has encountered an average of over 7,800 migrants per day 
     across the southwest border. This is compared to a historical 
     average of 1,600 per day in the pre-pandemic years [2014 to 
     2019].

  Let me just repeat that:

       In the past 3 weeks, CBP has encountered an average of over 
     7,800 migrants per day across the southwest border. [This is] 
     compared to a historical average of 1,600 per day in the pre-
     pandemic years.

  The situation on our southern border is out of control. It is on 
track to get much, much worse. On April 1, the Biden administration 
announced the title 42 COVID-19 restrictions, which provided for the 
immediate deportation of individuals who crossed the border illegally, 
will end on May 23. It is ironic that even as the President has 
effectively declared that the COVID emergency to be over at our 
southern border, his administration continues to advocate to press 
Congress for more COVID funding.
  Once title 42 restrictions are officially lifted, the flood of 
illegal immigration across our southern border is expected to become a 
tsunami. The Department of Homeland Security expects as many as 18,000 
migrants per day to attempt to cross our southern border after the 
policy is lifted--18,000 per day. That is more than double the number 
we are currently experiencing, which is already straining Border Patrol 
to the limit.
  Secretary Mayorkas testified last week that morale in the Border 
Patrol is low. Not surprising. What will it be like for these men and 
women when their workload more than doubles?
  Title 42 restrictions were never intended to be a permanent border 
solution and lifting them would not be a problem if it were clear that 
the President is ready to deal with the resulting immigration surge, 
but the President hasn't even been able to--or hasn't bothered to--come 
up with a plan to address our existing immigration crisis. And the plan 
he has offered to deal with the unexpected surge when title 42 
restrictions are lifted is inadequate, to put it mildly.
  To give us one example, the administration plans to increase Customs 
and Border Protection detention capacity to 18,000. The problem with 
that is, as I said, we could be facing an influx of 18,000 illegal 
immigrants per day--per day--when title 42 has ended. Given that 
individuals usually stay in Customs and Border Protection custody for 2 
or 3 days, it is clear that a detention capacity of 18,000 is likely to 
be woefully insufficient.
  Even some Democrats have criticized the administration's plan with 
one noting that: ``The administration's plan for the end of title 42 is 
unrealistic by May 23.''
  Another Democrat said:

       There hasn't been enough preparation . . . we don't have 
     the basics of how you're going to handle 18,000 individuals a 
     day safely and in accordance with our ethics and principles. 
     This plan, I have not seen it yet.

  A number of Senate Democrats have criticized the President's decision 
to end title 42 right now. While I appreciate their speaking up, I wish 
that they had decided to join Republicans in supporting an amendment to 
preserve title 42 border policies when we voted on it last August, or 
the amendment Republicans supported in February of last year to boost 
funding for security at our Nation's borders. Then, perhaps, we 
wouldn't currently be in a situation where we expect to see half a 
million individuals a month attempting to illegally cross our southern 
border.

  Out-of-control illegal immigration represents a serious security 
threat. Criminals, including human traffickers, drug smugglers, and 
gang members, regularly attempt to cross our southern border. And the 
worse the situation at our border gets, the easier it is for these 
individuals to make their way into our country. Our Border Patrol 
officers do heroic work, but they are stretched incredibly thin and 
have been for more than a year now. It is simply common sense to 
acknowledge that the greater the flood of illegal immigration they have 
to contend with, the easier it is going to be for bad actors to get 
across the border.
  Just last week, Secretary Mayorkas testified there were more than 
389,000 got-aways, which were individuals the Border Patrol saw but was 
unable to apprehend at our southern border during fiscal year 2021--
389,000 got away. How many more are there likely to be if the influx at 
our southern border more than doubles?
  Securing our border--by that, I mean having actual operational 
control of who enters our country--is a national security imperative. 
It is unfortunate that President Biden doesn't seem to realize that. He 
began his administration by rescinding the declaration of a national 
emergency at our southern border, halting construction of the border 
wall, and revoking a Trump administration order that called for the 
government to faithfully execute our immigration laws. In other words, 
President Biden immediately gave the green light to those who would 
exploit our broken immigration system. He has continued to implement 
measures that have served to convey the message that the U.S. borders 
are effectively open.
  While his title 42 decision has finally forced him to offer a so-
called plan to deal with border security, the measures he proposes to 
take are unlikely to deter the expected surge of illegal immigration 
once title 42 is lifted. As a result, by the end of this month, our 
Nation may be facing a security enforcement and humanitarian crisis at 
our southern border that makes our current crisis look like child's 
play.
  The administration must do more to develop its response plan before 
the President lifts title 42 restrictions on the 23rd of May. The truth 
of the matter is, it is almost unquestionably too late for the 
administration to be adequately prepared for the coming crisis by the 
end of this month. I hope the President will recognize that and delay 
the May 23 date until he has an adequate plan for dealing with our 
current border crisis, as well as any additional influx from lifting 
title 42 border restrictions.
  If he does not move the May 23 deadline, then Congress should step in 
and do it for him and stop our Nation's current border crisis from 
becoming a true catastrophe.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.