[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 73 (Monday, May 1, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1432-S1433]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, over the weekend, the small town of 
Cleveland, TX--more or less in East Texas; east at least of Conroe and 
the Houston area--they experienced a shocking crime. We are still 
learning more details about the perpetrator and exactly what happened 
that led to such horrific bloodshed, but here is what we know right 
now.
  Late on Friday night, 38-year-old Francisco Oropesa was firing his 
gun in his front yard in this rural part of the State. His neighbor 
came over and asked him to stop, respectfully, because it was just 
about midnight and the neighbor explained he had an infant at home who 
was trying to get some sleep. He asked that Oropesa shoot farther away 
from the home, hoping to minimize the disturbance to his 1-month-old 
son. Oropesa refused. He said he could do anything he wanted on his 
property and continued shooting.
  The neighbors did what anyone else would do under the circumstances: 
They called law enforcement. They called the police. The gunshots 
continued, so the neighbors called the police again, eventually calling 
five times.
  Before police could arrive, Oropesa stormed his neighbor's home with 
a gun and began firing, and he killed five people before fleeing. He 
remains at large. All of the victims found inside the home were killed 
in what law enforcement has described as execution-style shooting.
  The first victim was 25-year-old Sonia Argentina Guzman, a mother of 
three. Sonia's husband Wilson had been the one to go to the door and 
ask that the shooting stop so their 1-month-old son could get some 
sleep. While Sonia's husband, infant son, and 2-year-old daughter 
survived the shooting, her eldest son did not. At just 9 years old, her 
son, Daniel Enrique Lazo Guzman, was also murdered by Oropesa. The 
other victims were family friends who had been at their home that 
evening. This includes 21-year-old Diana Velasquez Alvarado, 31-year-
old Julisa Molina Rivera, and 18-year-old Jose Jonathan Casarez.
  I can't imagine the shock and grief these families are experiencing 
today. What they thought was just a normal Friday night surrounded by 
family and friends turned into a life-shattering day because of the 
actions of this criminal. My prayers are with these families as they 
search for peace, healing, and justice.
  In the wake of this tragedy, Governor Abbott's office announced that 
the suspect had been in the United States illegally and had been 
previously deported four times. He never should have been in the United 
States in the first place.
  As devastating and unimaginable as this story is, it is not entirely 
unique. I remember the murder of Kate Steinle in 2015. She and her 
father were walking alongside a pier in San Francisco when she was shot 
and killed. The man who killed her was an illegal immigrant who had 
been deported not once, not twice, but five times. He had seven felony 
convictions.
  I want to be abundantly clear about one point: The actions of these 
criminals do not and should not reflect on the tens of millions of law-
abiding immigrants in this country. Any attempt to frame immigrants in 
general as a threat to our country is completely devoid of facts and 
detached from reality.
  But my point in sharing these stories is to prove that there are 
devastating

[[Page S1433]]

consequences when the Biden administration simply refuses to enforce 
the law both at and inside of our borders.
  Since President Biden took office, now about 2\1/2\ years ago, 
Customs and Border Protection has logged more than 5 million border 
crossings--an unprecedented number. Most of these individuals probably 
came to the United States for economic reasons, which, as we know, does 
not in and of itself qualify them for asylum. Some are probably 
escaping persecution, which will likely qualify them for asylum under 
the U.S. law. Some--although certainly another small percentage--are 
dangerous criminals who have been convicted of serious crimes.

  Since October, Border Patrol has arrested more than 5,000 convicted 
criminals at the border who have been convicted of everything from 
burglary and assault to drug trafficking and murder. The big caveat to 
remember is, these are just the ones we know about. When thousands of 
migrants illegally cross the southern border every day, it completely 
overwhelms our border patrol and law enforcement authorities.
  Law enforcement is pulled from the frontlines to help feed and care 
for these migrants, including unaccompanied children, creating a 
veritable gateway for dangerous criminals and drugs to make their way 
into the United States undetected.
  Earlier this year, Border Patrol told news outlets that 1.2 million 
migrants had evaded law enforcement since President Biden took office. 
In other words, we know how many law enforcement encountered, but the 
so-called ``got-aways''--1.2 million of them--we have no inkling what 
they are up to, whether they are economic migrants simply looking for a 
better life. My guess is, probably not. My guess is that they were 
probably either convicted criminals who knew they would not be allowed 
into the United States or they were people who were transiting the 
United States, carrying drugs into the interior.
  These ``got-aways''--that number is not just one pulled out of thin 
air. These individuals are detected by cameras, sensors, or other forms 
of surveillance but never arrested or processed by Border Patrol 
because they are simply overwhelmed. These are the ones who are running 
away from the Border Patrol instead of turning themselves in to claim 
asylum, like the majority of immigrants.
  I have no idea where these 1.2 million people are or what they are 
doing, but neither does President Biden; neither does Customs and 
Border Protection; neither do any of our law enforcement Agencies know 
where these 1.2 million migrants are or what they are doing. Maybe, 
just maybe--I would say in all likelihood--inside of that number, some 
subset are probably murderers, rapists, child abusers with lengthy rap 
sheets. Maybe they are cartel members smuggling fentanyl and other 
dangerous drugs into our communities. Maybe they are members of 
criminal gangs like MS-13 or other transnational gangs.
  The truth is, President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas, as Secretary of 
Homeland Security, have no idea who or what is coming across our border 
every day.
  When title 42, which, as we all know, is the public health title that 
has been used to expel some migrants during the pendency of the 
pandemic--when it expires next Thursday, the number of migrants coming 
across the border every day will soar, making it even easier for 
criminals and gang members to sneak into the United States, along with 
the drugs that have taken too many lives in recent years.
  One hundred and eight thousand Americans died of drug overdoses last 
year, 71,000 from fentanyl. All that comes across the border. We know 
where it is coming from, but President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas 
have done too little to stop it. In fact, their policies have 
encouraged more and more people to come.
  Law enforcement depends in part on deterrence, people knowing that 
``If I try, I am unlikely to be successful, so I am not going to try in 
the first place.'' That is how law enforcement manages their business. 
But when people see no likelihood of negative consequences, they are 
going to keep coming, and we understand exactly why. Unfortunately, 
this allows dangerous individuals into the United States, and the odds 
of them being arrested and removed by the Biden administration are 
extremely low.
  So this is a problem not only at the border, this is a problem once 
these individuals make their way inside the United States.
  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, otherwise known as ICE, is 
charged with removing individuals who are illegally present in the 
United States.
  In fiscal year 2020, the Agency deported just over 100,000 
individuals. That is fiscal year 2020. For context, U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection logged 458,000 border crossings during that period.
  Once President Biden took office and the welcome mat came out and 
people knew that our borders essentially were open, things have changed 
dramatically. In fiscal year 2022, the number of deportations fell to 
just over 38,000--from 100,000 in 2020 to 38,000 in 2022--while the 
number of border encounters has skyrocketed. Customs and Border 
Protection logged nearly 2.4 million border crossings that year.
  So day after day, the Biden administration is allowing more and more 
migrants to enter the United States illegally, despite the fact that 
the vast majority of these individuals have no legal basis to stay, but 
they are depending on their system being overwhelmed and so are the 
people who are getting rich, getting paid by the head to smuggle those 
individuals into the United States.
  But at the same time, the administration is doing less and less to 
actually enforce the law and remove those who have been found to have 
no credible claim to remain in the United States. The Biden 
administration simply refuses to enforce America's immigration laws, 
and its policies have real and deadly consequences.
  It is dangerous for the migrants to make the long trip from their 
home in the hands of cartels who care nothing for them. They don't care 
about people. They just care about the money and the drugs. As a 
consequence, many migrants are hurt and abused and extorted by the 
cartels and coyotes en route. Many girls and women are sexually 
assaulted in astonishingly large numbers.
  It is hurtful to law enforcement who are overworked, unappreciated, 
and burnt out. These policies hurt the border communities like the ones 
I represent that are expected to shoulder the massive weight of this 
humanitarian crisis because the Federal Government and the Biden 
administration refuses to do its job. It hurts small towns, medium-
sized towns, and large towns all across America that have been 
infiltrated by fentanyl and other deadly drugs. And as we saw again 
this weekend, the administration's policies victimize people who are 
attacked by dangerous individuals who never should have been in the 
United States in the first place.
  How much pain and suffering will our country have to endure before 
the Biden administration takes this seriously? It is past time to 
secure the border, enforce our immigration laws, and prioritize the 
safety and security of the American people. Until then, I am sad to 
say, innocent people will continue to suffer due to the 
administration's failed policies.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. HIRONO. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.