[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 20, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7974-H7975]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CRISIS AT OUR SOUTHERN BORDER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Malliotakis) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. MALLIOTAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss the crisis at our 
southern border and to call for this body to immediately take up the 
Border Security Act of America that will restore order; that will 
enhance technology; and that will give our Customs and Border 
Protection agents the tools that they are begging for.
  A year ago last March, I actually went where the President and our 
Vice President refuse to go: to the southern border, Rio Grande. And if 
you talk to the CBP agents there, they will tell you exactly what is 
going on.
  We are seeing our southern border overrun by the drug cartels. We are 
seeing human trafficking take place. We are seeing and hearing from 
children who are being abused along the journey, and the amount of 
fentanyl and other drugs that are streaming over our border and killing 
Americans is at record levels. It could be stopped today, but this 
administration and this Congress refuse to do it.
  The issue of public safety and national security is one we just 
discussed last week, September 11; we said we will never forget. But 
yet, here we have policies in place that make us less safe and could 
potentially cause something catastrophic to happen.
  We need to be wise. We need to be reasonable. We are a nation of 
immigrants. We are a compassionate nation. My mother is a Cuban 
refugee. My father is a Greek immigrant.
  It is not about that. It is about having order. It is about having 
laws. It is about having policies in place and making sure that they 
are being followed.
  We know that 66 suspected terrorists were apprehended attempting to 
cross

[[Page H7975]]

our border. We also know that, at a time like this, we face threats 
from Russia and from China, and Iran straight out said that they plan 
attacks on United States soil.
  And yet, with 3.2 million people crossing into our country illegally 
and 500,000 gotaways from over 60 different countries, we run a risk of 
being in danger. Think about that, that is almost four times the 
population of the President's home State of Delaware.
  Now it is also having a financial impact on our constituents. It is 
now costing American taxpayers $20 billion a year, something completely 
unsustainable as U.S. debt approaches $31 trillion.
  Americans are struggling right now to get by. They are trying to keep 
roofs over their own heads. They are trying to pay their utility bills. 
They are trying to put food on the table for their children, and now 
the majority wants them to pick up this additional cost for this 
unsustainable policy.
  My own mayor is saying that it is having an impact on New York City 
and that it is at a breaking point. He is complaining about the 
Governors who are busing individuals to New York City, but he hasn't 
said a peep about the President who was flying them in over the last 2 
years.
  The bottom line is, if my mayor or anyone else has an issue with what 
is happening in their cities, they need to hold the President 
accountable and this Congress accountable to make sure that we pass the 
laws that make sense.
  We need to bring up the Border Security for America Act before we 
leave next week. If not, we are doing a great disservice to the people 
of this country. We are continuing to increase our debt. We are 
continuing to make our cities less safe, and we are continuing to put 
our Nation at risk in the future.

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