[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 13, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S4547]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            BORDER SECURITY

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, now on another matter, this past 
weekend, Vice President Harris made a surprising announcement on ``Meet 
the Press.'' The Vice President declared--listen to this--``The border 
is secure.''
  We are about to close the fiscal year with more than 2 million 
illegal immigrant encounters on our southern border, breaking the 
alltime record that we only just set last year. Seizures of lethal 
fentanyl are also on pace to exceed last year's total. They are up more 
than 200 percent in just the latest month on record. These are not the 
signs of a secure border, and the American people know it. An outright 
majority of the country disapproves of how President Biden has been 
handling this issue. The Vice President's claims aren't fooling anyone.
  For years now, this crisis has stretched border communities to the 
breaking point and caused ripples throughout the entire country. All 
the while, Democrats have claimed it would be cruel or uncompassionate 
to have a functioning southern border or actually enforce our laws.
  Now, in recent weeks, the country has been treated to one of the more 
striking displays of irony we have seen in quite a while.
  For many years, while the citizens and local governments on the 
border have cried out for help and law enforcement, various Democrat-
run cities and States that aren't on the border decided to set 
themselves up as virtue signaling sanctuary cities, where immigration 
laws supposedly simply do not apply. For years, much of the political 
left has suggested there are no legitimate practical reasons why our 
country would want secure borders or to enforce its immigration laws. 
Only racism or xenophobia could possibly explain it.
  Well, for several weeks now, some of these overwhelmed States have 
decided to try taking some of these Democrat-run jurisdictions at their 
word.
  Governor Abbott in Texas and Governor Ducey in Arizona have put a 
very small proportion of the illegal immigrants pouring into their 
States onto buses bound for the self-advertised sanctuary cities of New 
York and Washington. And do you know what? Just this very small taste 
of chaos, this tiny little sliver of what many places in America have 
been dealing with for years, has these cities' Democratic leaders 
outraged, anxious, and scrambling.
  Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, has only had to receive in 5 weeks 
roughly the number of people the Border Patrol encounters in 7 or 8 
hours. New York has had over a month to handle a fraction--a fraction--
of 1 day's share of border crossings. Yet the mayor says having to deal 
with this is ``horrific.'' New York City officials complain that they 
are overwhelmed.
  Here in Washington, the destination for fewer than 8,000 illegal 
immigrants, the Democrat Mayor has declared a public health emergency. 
She begged the Pentagon to send in the National Guard for help. The 
Defense Department, of course, turned her down.
  It is incredible just how quickly Democrats change their tune when 
they have to stomach one single spoonful--spoonful--of the policies 
they have been force-feeding the rest of our country. Oh, it is 
challenging to have waves of illegal immigrants pouring into your 
community? This creates challenges for housing and medical care and 
resource allocation and law enforcement? Who knew all this?
  As one former mayor from the frontlines of this crisis put it 
recently, ``The city of McAllen was able to deal with thousands of 
immigrants a day. I think they can handle a few hundred.''
  Maybe this will be the wake-up call the Democrats need to finally 
understand that functional nations--functional nations--need functional 
borders.

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