[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 81 (Monday, May 15, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1638-S1639]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, we have really heard quite a bit over 
the past few weeks and especially this past weekend about this 
administration and their decision to do away with title 42, and I would 
take this opportunity to remind my Democratic colleagues that President 
Biden himself admitted that our southern border will be, and I quote 
him, ``chaotic for a while'' post-title 42. So the expectation is that 
this will create chaos, and they know it, but they are doing it anyway.
  In the days right before title 42 was terminated, we were already 
seeing unprecedented chaos along our southern border. Again, they knew 
it. Chaos was coming, but they were going to do it anyway because it 
serves their purposes.
  Now, here is some of the chaos that has actually happened at that 
border. These are last week's numbers. They are not my numbers. They 
are not Republican numbers. They are Border Patrol's numbers. This is 
what this administration is doing to the communities that are along 
that southern border.
  Border Patrol reported last week 68,000 apprehensions, and they 
seized hundreds of pounds of narcotics, including 56 pounds of 
fentanyl. Bear in mind, 1 little gram, one little touch is enough to 
kill. We are all hearing ``One pill will kill.'' Yet think about 56 
pounds of that coming in. What would that do to your community?
  At the same time, on top of the 68,000 who were apprehended, there 
were 16,000 ``got-aways'' whom they could see on surveillance video, 
but they could not get to them. Those are the known ``got-aways.'' So 
they cross the border, and they go running into the country.
  There are also the unknown ``got-aways.'' As the Presiding Officer 
knows, as Border Patrol is out, as they are going through their day, 
many times they find evidence of the people who have crossed where they 
couldn't see them on video. They weren't wanting to be apprehended. 
Those are the really bad, bad, bad guys who are bringing in more drugs, 
more terrorists, more gangs into this country.
  In the past 72 hours alone, we have seen three agents assaulted. 
These are our Border Patrol agents. They are being assaulted. Bear in 
mind, the cartels--global organizations--the cartels are in charge of 
that border on the Mexico side. So three of our agents have been 
assaulted. There were almost 15,000 more apprehensions in 72 hours and 
more than 4,300 ``got-aways'' who evaded capture.
  As I said, these are not my numbers. They are not Republican numbers. 
These are the numbers of the Border Patrol. They are the Biden 
administration's numbers. They know that they are creating chaos, that 
they are making life difficult, that they are making the job of Border 
Patrol harder every single day, but it serves their purpose, so they do 
it anyway.
  They know exactly what is happening and what will happen if they 
don't regain control of that border:

[[Page S1639]]

more chaos. The chaos is going to escalate because the drug cartels 
were exploiting the end of title 42 well before last week.
  I have on my poster this weekend review, with the apprehensions we 
have talked about: $83,000 that was seized from the cartels, 224 pounds 
of marijuana, 179 pounds of meth, 56 pounds of fentanyl, 34 pounds of 
cocaine, 5 pounds of heroin.
  You know, I had a sheriff tell me that they used to apprehend drugs 
in grams, and now it is all pounds. Why is it pounds? It is because the 
cartels are so emboldened.
  Oh, here we go. We have some more: seven firearms, five sex 
offenders. These are people who were convicted of crimes in their 
countries, and they are trying to come in here. A lot of these 
countries are emptying their jails and trying to unload them on us.
  Well, four gang members coming to a neighborhood near you. Why is it 
that crime is running rampant? Well, we know.
  Now, this is all from last week: two felons, one subject with five 
warrants. That is what they are dealing with.
  From October of last year to March of this year, agents apprehended 
more than 1 million illegal immigrants. Title 42 was still in place 
then. Last week, tens of thousands of people were camped on the Mexico 
side of the border, and nearly 80,000 more were gathered in Guatemala 
with plans to come into the United States. They are making their way 
here.
  The cartels have a plan. The Biden administration and the Democrats 
have zero of a plan. So we need Congress to step in and make certain we 
get this border secured.
  On his second day in office, President Biden terminated the 
successful Trump-era migrant protection protocols. That is known as 
``Remain in Mexico.'' The policy required illegal immigrants seeking 
asylum at the southern border or without proper ID to return to Mexico 
to await their hearing. It worked. Guess what. It worked. Now, instead 
of keeping it in place, the Biden administration and the Democrats have 
decided to go back to the old, failed catch-and-release policy. Come on 
in. We will give you a court date. Court dates now are about 2030, but 
come on, we will let you in. They will be caught, and then they are 
released into the country.

  Bringing back ``Remain in Mexico'' is essential to maintaining our 
Nation's security and sovereignty, especially now that the Biden 
administration has completely undermined Border Patrol by stripping 
them of their title 42 authority. So this month, I introduced the Make 
the Migrant Protection Protocols Mandatory Act. The bill is simple. It 
mandates that individuals seeking asylum at the southern border or 
without proper ID must return to Mexico while they await their 
immigration proceedings. We should pass this as soon as possible. That 
is step one.
  Step two is to strike at the heart of the cartels' $13 billion 
criminal enterprise.
  Since President Biden took office, human trafficking has become even 
more pervasive at the southern border. The State Department estimates 
that the cartels move as many as 17,500 people across the border every 
year. One in three is a child. We also know that the cartels 
overwhelmingly target young girls and sell them into sex slavery. With 
the end of title 42, these criminal abusers will feel particularly 
emboldened to expand their business.
  I want you to think about those numbers. Human trafficking has become 
a $13 billion business. Go back to 2019; it was a $500 million-a-year 
business. Ask yourself, what has changed in that time? It is an 
administration with very lax or no border policy. Their policy is open 
it up so that we, the taxpayers, finish the cartels' job. And it is a 
humanitarian crisis because women and girls--90 percent of whom make 
this journey--are being sexually assaulted. So I would ask my 
colleagues, are you OK with that? Are you OK with the cartels making 
this money? Are you OK with them moving these individuals and selling 
these women and girls into sex slavery?
  The SAVE Girls Act, which I introduced this year--Senator Klobuchar 
has joined me on this--it establishes a $50 million grant program to 
put critical resources into the hands of State and local officials and 
nonprofits so they can fight the smuggling and trafficking of girls 
across the border and into the communities.
  This persistent abuse of young women will only worsen with title 42 
gone. There is no reason why this body should not immediately pass this 
bill and help to protect these women and children who are making this 
journey.
  As we speak, cartels are exploiting Congress's inaction. The 
President is asleep at the wheel. His border czar is missing in action. 
His Cabinet officials are busy evading requests for information about 
what precisely they have been doing with taxpayer time and money over 
the last few years.
  We won't be able to fix this overnight, but we have to start 
somewhere. We need to make ``Remain in Mexico'' the law of the land and 
pass the SAVE Girls Act and give law enforcement the tools they need to 
secure the border before we lose complete and total control of it.
  (Ms. HIRONO assumed the Chair.)