[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 102 (Monday, June 12, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S2043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, the Biden administration has spent 
the better part of 3 years claiming that its border policies are humane 
and just. We know this isn't the case. Under Joe Biden, the Mexican 
cartels are acting with impunity because the President would rather 
cave to the desires of the far left than admit that a country with open 
borders has no borders at all. Because of this open border policy and 
the fact that they are not recognizing the southern border as a border, 
they have turned every town into a border town, every State into a 
border State, and this has made us vulnerable to drug smugglers, human 
traffickers, and violent criminals looking for their next victim.

  In April, the Border Patrol reported more than 182,000 encounters 
with migrants trying to cross the southern border--182,000. When you 
combine that with the numbers from the first quarter of this year, you 
come up with more than 602,000 encounters. That doesn't include the 
tens of thousands of got-aways who disappeared into the country before 
they could be apprehended. When you add that to the 22,000 pounds of 
drugs that have been seized, almost 40,000 criminals that have been 
caught, and 49 suspected terrorists apprehended, you must conclude that 
the Biden administration hasn't just lost control of the border; they 
have relinquished it.
  As I said, the border policy is to have no policy, to have an open 
border--interesting--and it is something that my colleagues across the 
aisle refuse to admit is taking place.
  Our southern border is wide open. The people benefiting are the 
cartels that are in control of the border on the Mexico side: 49 
suspected terrorists, 22,000 pounds of drugs, 40,000 criminal illegal 
aliens apprehended. As I said, that is just in the 602,000 who have 
been apprehended so far this year. That is right, so far this year.
  And in the got-aways--the tens of thousands of got-aways--how many 
more pounds of drugs, how many more criminals, how many more terrorists 
have come into this country?
  While our border is open, the cartels are monetizing Joe Biden's 
refusal to secure the country. They have turned human trafficking into 
a $13 billion-a-year business. It is amazing--$13 billion on human 
trafficking alone.
  For years, illegal immigrants have taken advantage of the fact that 
if they cross the border with a minor, they will more likely than not 
be released into the United States while their immigration cases are 
processed. But under Joe Biden, human traffickers have made this 
complacency a part of their expected business model.
  They are now engaging in a practice that is horrendous. It is called 
child recycling. It is a disgusting process. In this child recycling 
process, the same child is exploited repeatedly by illegal aliens 
attempting to enter the United States. Once one criminal escapes into 
the country, they ship the child back across the border and into the 
hands of another abuser.
  The Trump administration fought back against this practice and 
mandated that asylum seekers with accompanying minors take DNA tests to 
prove that they were indeed a family unit. And like many of the Trump-
era border policies, this worked. We have the data to prove it. Just 
ask the Border Patrol.
  In one pilot program, 30 percent of those rapid DNA tests showed that 
the adult trying to enter the country bore no relation to the child 
they brought with them--30 percent. The DNA testing program saved a lot 
of lives.
  So I would ask my colleagues this question: Is it fair--is it fair--
to ask the Biden administration, is it worth saving the lives of these 
children?
  This Biden administration ended DNA testing of illegal immigrants 
last month, 2 weeks after title 42 ended. So is it fair to ask why they 
will not implement DNA testing? Why will they not agree to save the 
lives of as many as 30 percent of the children who are being presented 
at the southern border?
  See, it wasn't a policy decision. You have just got to believe that. 
It had to be a political decision, and we just cannot allow this to 
stand.
  Earlier this year, I introduced the End Child Trafficking Now Act. 
That would criminalize child recycling. It would reinstate the DNA 
testing program and create harsh penalties for migrants who try to 
skirt the law. This legislation would require adult migrants trying to 
enter the country with a minor to prove that they are indeed the 
child's relative or guardian. They will be able to do that by providing 
paperwork and sworn witness testimony or by taking the DNA test.

  If their paperwork doesn't check out--and we know the cartels have 
started to forge documents into fraudulent paperwork. We are aware of 
that. That is why, if their paperwork doesn't pan out, the DNA test is 
mandatory. If the DNA test proves that migrant is lying, HHS would step 
in and process the child as an unaccompanied minor, and the trafficker 
would face a maximum 10-year prison sentence for falsely posing as a 
family. This legislation would also require DHS to deport illegal 
aliens who refuse to take the DNA test. This is a commonsense bill that 
every Senator in this Chamber should get behind.
  I call on my Democratic colleagues to either join me in moving this 
important legislation forward or explain to the American people why 
they would stonewall a program, a test--and it only takes 45 minutes. 
Why would they stonewall this when it would keep children out of these 
human trafficking rings?
  This horrific practice will not stop unless we stop it. And if we 
don't catch it at the border, we need to catch it as these criminals 
move across the country.
  Child recycling is a problem, but I think we all know that not every 
child forced across our border is sent back home. Labor and sex 
trafficking within the United States is real, and it is happening in 
our communities.
  This horrible reality particularly affects girls and young women, 
which is why I introduced the SAVE Girls Act. This bipartisan 
legislation, which I introduced with Senator Klobuchar, creates a $50 
million grant program to provide States, localities, and nongovernment 
organizations, our nonprofits, with the resources they need to catch 
traffickers and to support the children and the women who survive this 
horrific practice.
  This is not a Republican or a Democrat issue. This is a human rights 
issue. And I am so grateful to my colleagues for working with me to put 
the safety of these women and girls first.
  I hope the rest of the Members of this Chamber will follow the lead 
and help us pass the SAVE Girls Act and the End Child Trafficking Now 
Act because, if we don't, things will get much, much worse for these 
children and these women who are being trafficked.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Hirono). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. BLACKBURN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
order for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Louisiana.