[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 32 (Thursday, February 16, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S441-S442]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Southern Border

  Mrs. FISCHER. Mr. President, in April, Border Patrol agents 
encountered an unaccompanied 2-year-old boy at the southern border of 
Texas. Let me read you part of what the Customs and Border Protection 
released:

       The boy, a Honduran national, who had lost his shoe in the 
     mud while crossing, was traveling within a group of 38 
     individuals. Agents questioned the group to obtain any 
     information on the boy--however, no one claimed to know the 
     child.

  In 2022, CBP arrested at least six dozen convicted violent sex 
offenders--many of them child sex abusers--according to media releases. 
Vulnerable, unaccompanied children, as well as young women traveling 
alone, draw criminals like these to our country. They want to take 
advantage of the chaos overwhelming our border.
  Our border has become a hotbed of criminal activity, especially of 
trafficking helpless women and children.
  Last month, I came before you to address the deadly effects of drug 
trafficking across our border on American citizens. But the out-of-
control situation at our border puts migrants in danger too. The effect 
of these numbers on children is just heartbreaking.
  And 2022 beat the record for the number of unaccompanied migrant 
children encountered by Border Patrol, an overwhelming 152,057. The 
State Department reported this year that child sex tourism is expanding 
in the border cities of Mexico.
  The Biden administration claims that its laissez-faire border 
policies stem from valuing immigrants, but the choices it has made have 
worsened conditions for those trying to migrate to the United States.
  On his first day in office, President Biden ended the national 
emergency declaration at the border, halted construction on the border 
wall, and scaled back ICE enforcement. The very next month, the 
President canceled the Trump administration's asylum procedures, a move 
that aggravated the rush at the border. President Biden reinstated 
wide-scale catch-and-release practices, requiring border officials to 
release unprocessed migrants into our country while they await court 
hearings.
  Since President Biden's inauguration, 4.5 million people have arrived 
at our border. Last week, the President of the National Border Patrol 
Council told me he estimates that 7 million more migrants will arrive 
by the time Biden's term ends.
  Folks, that would mean a total of 11 million migrant encounters 
during the Biden administration. That number is larger than the 
population of 43 of the States in our Union.
  Despite the damage that the President has done at the border, he 
dedicated a total of 1 minute out of last week's 75-minute State of the 
Union Address to discussing immigration--1 minute. President Biden 
didn't even present any substantive solutions to our border problems.

  This administration is unable to manage the surges of immigrants it 
has welcomed to our border, so the President has cut corners left and 
right. Biden officials have weakened vital safety measures, including 
waiving certain background check requirements for the adult sponsors of 
unaccompanied migrant children. People entrusted with the care of 
unaccompanied children no longer have to undergo public record and sex 
offender registry checks, all in the interest of moving migrants into 
our country and out of Federal custody more quickly. The Department of 
Health and Human Services also has no way to track these children or 
ensure their well-being after they are placed with sponsors. The 
President's indifference to border safety and security means that 
abusers and traffickers have easy access to helpless kids.
  From the very beginning, President Biden's campaign promises to 
loosen border security rallied waves of migrants to make that 
treacherous trip north. Biden promised hope, but let's be clear--the 
reality is that this journey is one of suffering, whether it is forced 
labor, sex trafficking, or death. It has encouraged more criminals to 
take advantage of that frenzy.
  The Biden administration has yet to resecure the border, and it has 
yet to form a serious plan to remedy the problems it has created. It 
has taken 2 full years for the administration to produce what I think 
is a silly smartphone app, funded by your taxpayer dollars, to

[[Page S442]]

help migrants schedule their crossing times--schedule their crossing 
times. That is barely a bandaid for the massive gash that is our 
southern border.
  But while the President ignores this humanitarian crisis, my 
colleagues and I want to fix it. We can address the disaster at the 
border by providing our dedicated Border Patrol agents with more 
resources and more time to process migrants, equipping them to do their 
jobs thoroughly. We need to put up barriers against sex trafficking and 
drug trafficking by ending catch-and-release and imposing penalties on 
those who skip out on their immigration hearings.
  President Biden called on us as a nation last week to embrace 
civility over chaos. He should take his own advice and help us to 
stabilize the chaos at the border. The administration must finally open 
its eyes to this border crisis, and the Senate must implement real, 
lasting solutions for the sake of migrants, for the sake of legal 
immigrants, and for the sake of American citizens.
  As I have said before, we are a nation of immigrants, but we are also 
a nation of laws. Failure to enforce them doesn't help anyone. Well, it 
doesn't help anyone except predators looking for a chance to manipulate 
the chaos. Security will benefit those on both sides of our border.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from North Carolina.