[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 31, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S154-S155]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              IMMIGRATION

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, it only took 2 years--2 years--for the 
President to acknowledge the crisis that has been raging along our 
southern border almost since the day he took office. Over those 2 
years, we have seen record numbers of migrants attempting to cross our 
southern border. We have seen record numbers of migrants die--die--
attempting the dangerous crossing of our southern border. We have seen 
the Border Patrol overwhelmed, border cities overwhelmed, and dangerous 
drugs continue to flood across our border and reach communities around 
our Nation.
  Yet, for months and months, the President did essentially nothing. In 
fact, he acted as if the crisis didn't even exist. I am glad that, at 
long last, the President seems to be acknowledging this crisis, even if 
his recent visit to the border was scripted and controlled.
  But it is appalling to think of how much human misery could have been 
avoided if the President had lived up to his national security 
obligations and addressed the border disaster many months ago. I 
suppose it is not a surprise that the President wasn't eager to 
acknowledge just how bad things were because that might have drawn 
extra scrutiny to the President's border policies, policies that played 
a substantial role in creating this crisis in the first place.
  From the moment he took office and even before, President Biden made 
it clear that border security was at the bottom of his priority list. 
On his very first day in office, President Biden rescinded the 
declaration of a national emergency at our southern border. He halted 
construction of the border wall. He revoked a Trump administration 
order that called for the government to faithfully execute our 
immigration laws. And his Department of Homeland Security issued 
guidelines pausing deportations except under certain conditions. And 
that was all on his first day in office.
  Well, needless to say, the effect of all this was to declare to the 
world that the U.S. borders were effectively open, and we have seen the 
result: 2 years of soaring illegal immigration. Since President Biden 
took office, there have been more than 4.5 million attempted illegal 
border crossings. Now, to put that number in perspective, that is 
roughly equal to the entire population of South Dakota, plus the entire 
population of Delaware, Wyoming, Nebraska, and then some.
  Last month, 251,487 migrants were apprehended attempting to cross our 
southern border, the highest monthly number ever recorded. And, of 
course, these numbers just refer to individuals Customs and Border 
Protection managed to apprehend. There have been a staggering 1.2 
million known ``got-aways'' since President Biden took office, 
individuals that the Border Patrol saw but were unable to apprehend.
  President Biden has talked about wanting a safe, orderly, and humane 
immigration system. Well, up until now, he has failed on all fronts. 
Encouraging illegal immigration as the President's policies have done 
is the very opposite of compassionate and humane. There is nothing 
compassionate about policies that encourage people to attempt the 
dangerous trip across our southern border, to run the risk of 
exploitation and disease and exposure and death; nor is it 
compassionate to condemn border cities to dealing with a never-ending 
flood of illegal immigration and other cross-border illegal activity.
  On top of all that, the kind of unchecked illegal immigration we have 
been seeing is an open invitation--an open invitation--to drug 
traffickers, human smugglers, and other dangerous individuals.
  Our Nation is currently in the midst of a serious fentanyl crisis. In 
fact, right now, fentanyl overdose is the leading cause of death of 
U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 45. And where is all this 
fentanyl coming from? Well, most of it is being trafficked across our 
southern border. And I would be very surprised if the chaos at our 
southern border isn't facilitating that trafficking.
  And--let's be clear--drug trafficking across our southern border 
doesn't just affect border States; it affects communities around our 
country. I have

[[Page S155]]

talked to sheriffs in South Dakota, almost as far from our southern 
border as you can get, who are dealing with fentanyl that has been 
trafficked across the border from Mexico. Last year, Minnehaha County 
Sheriff Mike Milstead estimated that 90 percent--90 percent--of 
fentanyl and methamphetamine in our State, the State of South Dakota, 
comes through Mexico. Again, I would be very surprised if the chaos at 
our southern border hasn't facilitated that trafficking.
  Our country has been shaped by immigrants from around the world, and 
I am a strong supporter of legal immigration. I have repeatedly 
introduced legislation to open up opportunities for individuals to come 
from abroad and to work here in the United States when employers can't 
secure enough domestic labor. But immigration has to be legal. It has 
to be legal for security reasons, for humanitarian reasons, and because 
we have a responsibility to uphold the rule of law.
  I am thankful that the President finally seems to be, at least 
halfheartedly, acknowledging our border crisis and he has recognized 
his error in rescinding a number of policies that successfully took 
pressure off the border. Now let's see how he follows through.
  There are definitely things Congress can do to strengthen our border 
security, deter abuse of our asylum system, and provide resources to 
those serving on the frontlines against trafficking and smuggling. We 
can also find ways to address some of the economic factors that 
influence illegal immigration by leveraging legal pathways to allow 
immigrants to fill jobs that American employers are struggling to fill.
  But the fact of the matter is, while there are things Congress can do 
to help, the President of the United States doesn't need an act of 
Congress to move forward on securing the border. The President just 
needs to enforce the law. For the sake of our national security, our 
overwhelmed border communities, and the individuals tempted to make the 
dangerous journey across the border, let's hope he does so.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Padilla). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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