[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 78 (Tuesday, May 9, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H2141]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE TIME IS NOW TO PROTECT OUR SOUTHERN BORDER

  The SPEAKER. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
(Mr. Joyce) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, since President Biden took 
office and put a stop to the construction of a wall along our southern 
border, more than 1.3 million illegal immigrants have entered our 
country and avoided apprehension.
  Now, as title 42 is set to expire, a mass of migrants from Central 
America have formed at our points of entry from McAllen, Texas, to San 
Diego, California. This represents both a security and a humanitarian 
crisis, as resources are strained and migrants overwhelm our Border 
Patrol agents, allowing more deadly drugs to continue to spill into our 
great United States.
  In March, fentanyl seizures increased by 25 percent just from the 
prior month. We have seen the deadly toll that fentanyl-related 
substances have on our communities. In the past 2 years, more than 
14,000 pounds of this deadly drug have been seized, enough to kill 
every man, woman, and child in America.
  The problems on the border are widespread, and so far in 2023, 80 
people whose names appear on the terrorist watch list have been 
apprehended at our southern border. These statistics show the danger of 
this administration's failed and negligent border policies.
  Our Commitment to America means offering an alternative that, once 
again, puts Pennsylvania families first. It is time to pass the Secure 
the Border Act. It is time to end catch and release. It is time to 
increase the number of Border Patrol agents. It is time to finally 
complete construction of the border wall on our southern border.
  What Americans need right now is a Nation that is safe, not more 
hand-wringing from the Biden administration. The time is now to finally 
protect our southern border.

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