[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 17 (Thursday, January 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H341-H342]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BIDEN BORDER CRISIS CONTINUED
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Cline) for 5 minutes.
Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, another month and another record, as the
crisis at our southern border has gotten worse.
Under President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas'
watch, the Federal Government has completely ceded control of our
border to Mexican drug cartels. Yet, time and time again, Secretary
Mayorkas has repeatedly claimed that the border is secure. Well, the
facts tell a different story.
Late last Friday, CBP reported that December 2022 had the highest
number of illegal crossings at our southern border ever recorded--over
251,000 illegal migrant encounters in just 1 month.
In fiscal year 2022, we saw a record-breaking 98 people on the
terrorist watch list attempt to cross the border. Since October, we are
already on track to break that number, with 38 people caught trying to
illegally come into the interior of our country.
How many more suspected terrorists have to cross over the border for
this administration to take the crisis seriously?
CBP seized over 9,000 pounds of deadly fentanyl that the cartels
attempted to smuggle across our border. That is enough to kill over 2
billion innocent lives.
Madam Speaker, it is far past time that we hold the Biden
administration accountable for its complete dereliction of duty to
secure our borders. That is why I am glad that, next week, Chairman
Jordan and the House Judiciary Committee will be holding the first of
many hearings on this crisis.
Secretary Mayorkas has completely abused his authority and ignored
the United States' immigration laws. Questions are coming. I hope the
Secretary clears his calendar because we have a lot, and I look forward
to getting answers to those questions.
Congratulating Riverheads High School Football Team
Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Augusta County's own
Riverheads High School football team for winning the Virginia Class 1
State football championship this year. This was the Gladiators' 10th
State title in the program's history.
A 21-7 halftime lead helped propel the team to a resounding 49-27
victory over George Wythe High School. Riverheads has now won a notable
seven consecutive State titles, and junior running back Cayden Cook-
Cash, who led the team with 282 rushing yards, said: ``People had
doubted us. . . . I think we proved them wrong.'' Cayden and his
teammates sure did that.
The Riverheads running game had been strong all season, which allowed
the Gladiators to catch the George Wythe Maroons off guard with an
impressive seven touchdowns, culminating in an all-around unstoppable
offense.
When asked how it felt to take home the title once more, Head Coach
Ray Norcross said: ``Our kids played hard and played well, and we did
enough to win.''
Indeed, every State championship is earned, not given, and this squad
certainly earned it, finishing out the season with a 12-1 record.
[[Page H342]]
Congratulations to all the Riverheads players, coaches, staff, and
fans on this incredible accomplishment.
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