[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 11, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      FLORIDA KEYS MIGRANT CRISIS

  (Mr. GIMENEZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. GIMENEZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today as our Florida Keys are 
under a state of emergency.
  The President's unwillingness to secure our border, coupled with his 
pathetic policy of appeasement and concessions to the brutal Castro 
regime in Cuba, have created a migratory crisis unlike any other that 
the Florida Keys has seen in decades.
  Since August 2022 alone, Federal, State, and local law enforcement 
have encountered nearly 10,000 people in waters off the coast of 
Florida, and the Biden administration is directly responsible.
  Dry Tortugas National Park has already been forced to close because 
of this crisis, affecting the tourism-dependent economy of our Florida 
Keys constituents, boaters, and tour operators, and the Biden 
administration is directly responsible.
  Secretary Mayorkas has repeatedly demonstrated abdication of his 
responsibilities as leader of the Department of Homeland Security and 
failed to enforce our public safety immigration laws. That is why I am 
calling on him to resign immediately.
  Governor Ron DeSantis quickly activated the National Guard, and I 
commend him on behalf of my constituents for his leadership and bold 
action.
  I am calling on the Biden administration to take action now. We must 
reimburse Monroe County and the State of Florida for local resources 
that have been expended to process and care for the latest wave of 
migrants. We need to increase Customs and Border Protection onsite in 
Monroe County and provide additional resources to the Florida Keys.

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