[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 10, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1580-S1581]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mr. President, for more than 35 years, Congress has failed to fix the 
immigration laws of America, and this week that failure is going to be 
on full display on the news every night. That is because tomorrow the 
COVID-19 emergency measure known as title 42 comes to an end.
  This program was first created by President Trump during the earliest 
days of the coronavirus epidemic, and for the past 3 years, title 42 
has done nothing to address the challenges at our border. It has simply 
shut the border down and turned away families seeking refuge in 
America.
  Title 42 is not only inhumane, it is ineffective. By turning our back 
on asylum seekers and leaving Federal and local officials unequipped to 
address this crisis, we have only created more chaos and misery at our 
border. At this moment, there are thousands of families who have fled 
unimaginable horror and have nowhere else to go. And title 42 certainly 
hasn't made our border more secure; it has only postponed the 
inevitable.
  Truthfully, there is only one group of people who has benefited from 
title 42. I am sorry to say they are the transnational criminal 
organizations. How can that be? It is because for the past 3 years, 
title 42 has shut down nearly any ability for one to seek asylum in 
America. That means asylum seekers have had no other option than to 
seek illegal pathways into the country. So they turn to smugglers, 
human traffickers, who charge them thousands of dollars to take them on 
dangerous journeys across the border. And what happens when these 
asylum seekers are caught and sent back to Mexico instead of being 
processed under our Nation's immigration laws? The cycle repeats itself 
again and again and again. These smugglers can multiply their profits 
by taking asylum seekers across the border over and over again.
  According to the Department of Homeland Security, the illicit 
smuggling enterprise has become a multibillion-dollar operation. One 
reason this enterprise is raking in the profits is that lawmakers in 
Congress, right here in the Senate, have refused to reform our 
immigration laws and instead have relied on Executive actions like 
title 42.
  Now, it is worth noting that the Biden administration is at this 
moment doing everything it can to create an orderly process at our 
southern border, with the limited tools of our current immigration law. 
With the lifting of title 42 in just a matter of hours, we will likely 
see a significant increase in migrants seeking asylum. It goes to show 
that title 42 has failed to reduce the demand for those seeking entry 
into America. Really, that demand has been piling up for 3 years. So to 
help to manage this expected increase in border crossings, the Biden 
administration is deploying every resource at its disposal. They have 
increased the capacity to process asylum seekers, expanded access to 
lawful pathways into the United States, and partnered with other 
countries, like Colombia and Guatemala, to create new processing 
centers away from the southern border.
  While all of these steps are important, there is no action by the 
President alone that can address the fundamental problem we face. Our 
outdated immigration system is collapsing under the weight of modern-
day challenges, and the only way to change it is by enacting 
comprehensive immigration reform. If it seems like it is impossible, it 
is not.
  Last week, the MAGA majority in the House introduced a proposal they 
claim is a solution, but really it just codifies the failures of title 
42. Their bill provides no new legal pathways for entering into this 
country, erases nearly all humanitarian protection for families seeking 
asylum, and makes the situation at the border even worse.
  The fact is, the Republicans can try and build a border wall as high 
as they like, but it will not change the reality on the ground. And 
here is the reality: We in this world are in the midst of the worst 
refugee crisis in history. From Ukraine to Venezuela, 100 million 
people around the world have been displaced from their homes by war, by 
hunger, by political persecution, by climate change; and one in five of 
these refugees reside in the Western Hemisphere.
  Simply ignoring this global humanitarian crisis solves nothing, and 
shutting down our border won't deter these families from still trying 
to find refuge in America. It will force them to extremely dangerous 
alternatives, like smugglers and cartel members who are raking in 
billions because of our public policy failures.

[[Page S1581]]

  Let's stop pretending the American people can't handle an honest 
debate on immigration. They can. Talk to small business owners and 
family-run farms in States like mine. They are the first to tell you 
our Nation needs more immigrant workers. We have two times as many jobs 
in this country as unemployed people to fill them.
  I had the CEO of a major international corporation in my office 
yesterday. We talked about opportunities in the future, and he said the 
one thing that is holding him back is the lack of skilled employees. He 
begged me to find ways.
  I gave a few suggestions to him, but I told him as well: Don't ignore 
the reality. America is a nation of immigrants, and with so many jobs 
unfilled in this country, we need help. There are thousands of 
immigrants who are ready, capable, and willing to meet our workforce 
needs. What are we waiting for?
  Communities across America are struggling with worker shortages. It 
seems many in the other party are willing to entertain any solution 
except immigration in the land of immigrants.
  Just look at States like Arkansas and Iowa, which recently passed 
laws rolling back child labor protections--kids they want to work in 
dangerous settings. When I hear the suggestion that a 15- or 16-year-
old can work in a slaughterhouse, I remember those jobs that I held 
when I was going through college.
  I spent 12 months working in a slaughterhouse in East St. Louis, IL. 
It was dangerous, deadly work. And to think that you would put a young 
person on that job without the training and protection that they need 
is just not American. It is mindless.
  If you have any doubt that asylum seekers at our border are ready to 
fill the jobs that are available, let me tell you the story of Carlos 
from Venezuela, a country with one of the most ruthless dictators in 
the world.
  Back in Venezuela, Carlos had a full-time job. But the political and 
economic crisis was so bad in this country, he couldn't put food on the 
table. His family was on the brink of starvation, and he feared for 
their safety from political violence. So last May, Carlos and his wife 
did what any parent would do: They picked up their 4-year-old daughter 
and their nursing infant and they took off for the border. It was an 
incredible journey, 5 months--much of it on foot--to the Texas-Mexico 
border from Venezuela. It was a nightmare of violence, theft, and 
exploitation.
  I sat down with Carlos and his family when they got off the bus in 
Chicago, and he told me what they went through. He told me that at one 
point he thought they would die as they spent 9 consecutive nights in 
the Panamanian jungle. They were rescued by a local military force. All 
of their money, all of their cell phones had been stolen, but they 
pressed on to try to get to America.
  After filing a claim for asylum once they arrived, Carlos and his 
family were relocated to my city of Chicago. That is where I met them 
last September. When I spoke with Carlos, I asked him: What can I do 
for you? What can I do for your family? What do you need? He said one 
word: ``job.'' I need a job. I will go to work anywhere. I will do 
anything.
  There are many employers across this country who would take Carlos up 
on his offer in a minute, but they can't because he is not legally 
allowed to work. Though he is legally in this country waiting for his 
asylum hearing, he is not legally allowed to work for at least 6 months 
or maybe longer. How does that make any sense?
  Last week, the House Republicans finally introduced their response to 
our immigration hearings. The bill is more than 200 pages long. Not one 
word of it offers anything to employers in my State who need workers 
like Carlos. That is not a serious proposal.
  Yesterday, the mayor of Chicago, noting that some 8,000 immigrants 
who have been sent to our city by the Governor of Texas and the 
Governor of Florida, begged for help and issued an Executive order 
saying do something to help me deal with these very serious problems. 
At the current moment, immigrants are sleeping on the floors of police 
stations in the city of Chicago.
  Do you want to know what a serious immigration proposal looks like? 
Well, 10 years ago, the Senate actually passed one. We had a group of 
eight of us who worked for months to put together a bipartisan 
proposal. We brought it to the floor of the U.S. Senate, and it passed 
with an overwhelming majority. What happened to it in the Republican 
House? They refused to even consider it or debate it. Even Donald 
Trump's Secretary of Homeland Security admitted that that bipartisan 
bill would have made our border more secure, but the House Republicans 
refused to take it up and still refuse to face the reality of what 
comprehensive immigration reform looks like.
  We still need that package today, one that addresses the needs of our 
economy, provides a path of citizenship for Dreamers and immigrant farm 
workers, and lives up to our Nation's legacy of providing safe harbor 
to refugees fleeing for their lives.
  I have been told repeatedly by my Senate Republican colleagues that 
they will not negotiate until the House sends us a bill. We have waited 
long enough. This week, I am introducing a proposal that I hope we can 
all support and will start the debate.
  My bill would provide immediate assistance to border officials and 
authorities to help secure the border and officially process asylum 
seekers. It would provide support to the communities that welcome 
migrants in our country.
  This bill is by no means a comprehensive package, but it is an 
opportunity to show the American people that we are not ignoring the 
reality and we can support our frontline officials and the communities 
that need help.
  The American people are tired of partisan bickering and excuses over 
immigration. They want us to work together to secure our border, 
support our economy, and stand by the fundamental principles and values 
that have started this Nation.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  (Mr. DURBIN assumed the Chair.)
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hickenlooper). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.