[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 10, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S58-S61]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Border Security
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, it is common knowledge that America's
southern border has been in crisis since President Biden took office 3
years ago. Since then, 6.7 million--6.7 million--migrants have shown up
at the border, only to be released by the Biden administration into the
interior of the United States.
That 6.7 million people is higher than the Obama and the Trump
administration combined, and that was over a period of 12 years. In
just 3 years, we have experienced more illegal immigration than we did
in the preceding 12 years.
Well, despite the eye-popping statistics, leaders in the Biden
administration have repeatedly tried to mislead the American people
into believing everything at the border is just hunky-dory. In other
words, they are saying: Don't believe your lying eyes.
President Biden has consistently attempted to downplay concerns about
the border crisis. Of course, my State, the State of Texas, which has
1,200 miles of common border with Mexico, we are a ground-zero. But the
President has even refused to visit the border until last January,
nearly 2 years into his presidency, and then he did sort of a drive-by
in El Paso after much of the evidence related to the crisis had been
cleaned up.
At one point, the President defended his decision not to go to the
border by saying: Well, there are more important things to do. What an
abdication of responsibility.
Other leaders in the administration have offered weak and
unconvincing claims that there is no reason to be concerned. Some have
just lied. That sounds harsh, but there is simply no other reasonable
conclusion.
In the fall of 2022, Vice President Kamala Harris, the appointed
border czar by President Biden, said: We have a secure border.
I don't know how she reached that conclusion, other than maybe being
just wishful thinking. She certainly has traveled to the border. She
certainly hasn't studied the phenomenon associated with this mass
migration of humanity across our border into the United States.
And then the Biden official principally responsible for border
security, Alejandro Mayorkas, made a nearly identical proclamation,
saying--this is under oath, penalties of perjury--he said: The border
is secure.
Well, it is easy to see that these statements are demonstrably false.
After all, the American people can turn their TV set on and watch news
footage of migrants streaming across the border, caravans making their
way to the border mostly to just turn themselves in because they know
the Biden administration will release them into the countryside. We see
photos of migrants lining the streets and sidewalks of our major cities
like New York and Chicago, which are more than 1,000 miles away from
the United States-Mexico border.
We watch as people in communities die from fentanyl poisoning and
know that the vast majority of that fentanyl comes across the border
from Mexico.
Evidence of the humanitarian and security crisis at the border is all
around us, but the administration refuses to be honest, refuses to be
honest with the American people about the scope of this crisis as well
as their response.
Here is just one of many shocking examples. Last May, the chief
spokesman for President Biden, the White House Press Secretary, tried
to address the concerns over the administration's catch-and-release
policies. She said:
The claims that [Customs and Border Protection] is allowing
or encouraging mass release of migrants . . . is just
categorically false.
That was in May of 2023. What was false was her statement. Migrants
were being released in the United States with no immigration court date
and no way of keeping tabs on their whereabouts. When one of the catch-
and-release policies was vacated by a Federal court, the court's final
order likened the administration's actions to posting a flashing sign
on the border. That sign says ``Come in. We are open.'' That is what
one court likened the Biden administration's border policies to--a
welcome sign.
In the months since the White House Press Secretary made these
obviously false comments, the Biden administration is taking catch-and-
release to a new level. They have made that ``Come in. We are open''
sign even brighter and even bigger, and they have laid out a welcome
mat in addition.
Well, surprisingly, after falsely stating that the border is secure
time and time again, Secretary Mayorkas, who traveled to Eagle Pass
this last week, met with frontline law enforcement officials. He told
the Border Patrol agents that the current release rate of migrants
caught crossing the border illegally was 85 percent--85 percent. There
is no way to reconcile these two statements.
You know, some people say: Well, we need to build a wall.
Well, border infrastructure is important, but people can turn
themselves in and be released, and the wall doesn't make much
difference.
Yes, we need technology. Yes, we need more Border Patrol. But
unfortunately the Border Patrol are being
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overwhelmed now, and the Biden administration has made it their policy
simply just to release people coming to the border. This, of course, is
a huge magnet or what the Border Patrol calls a pull factor encouraging
more and more people to come. That is why you are seeing unprecedented
levels of illegal immigration during the Biden administration, because
people realize: Here is my opportunity, and no one is going to stop me.
Well, the main people benefiting from this, of course, are the
transnational criminal organizations and the drug cartels who get paid
by the head or by the pound. It is part of a really ingenious business
model by the cartels because they know that if you flood the zone with
people and you make $5,000, $10,000 a head for each person you smuggle
into the United States, then you can overwhelm the Border Patrol so
that they get offline in order to process the migrants, and then here
come the drugs--the drugs that took the lives of 108,000 Americans last
year alone.
The statement of Secretary Mayorkas in January 2024 that over 85
percent of illegal border crossers are released--this was not made in a
press release or made in a speech; this was overheard as part of a
private conversation and only after these Border Patrol agents, who are
putting their lives on the line to enforce the laws that Congress has
written--when they pressed him on the comments he made earlier last
week.
In that interview, interestingly, the Secretary was asked about
reports that as many as 70 percent were released into the United
States, and he said, ``[That] would not surprise me at all.'' He said,
``I know the data.''
``I know the data.''
Well, this is the guy who said the border is secure time and time
again under oath--lying to Members of Congress in official proceedings
before congressional committees.
He didn't say: Well, the rate is actually higher than 70 percent.
Instead, he said: I know. He said: I know what the numbers are, and it
is not 70 percent; it is 85 percent.
Well, Secretary Mayorkas may be able to dissemble and prevaricate
here in Washington, but our frontline personnel--our Border Patrol, our
Department of Public Safety personnel who are working at the order of
Governor Abbott, as well as the National Guard, who are trying to do
the job that the Federal Government and the Biden administration have
refused to do--they know the truth.
The fact is, the American people know the truth. They know that
President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas, the White House Press
Secretary, the Vice President--all of them have tried to mislead the
American people about the truth.
No area along Texas's southern border has been spared by the chaos of
the Biden border crisis, but Eagle Pass--Eagle Pass, TX--has been dealt
an especially tough hand. Over the past few months, migrants have
flooded this section of the border, and it is not uncommon for agents
to see thousands of migrants in a single day.
This is not a major city with a lot of resources. Eagle Pass is a
small border town with a population of roughly 28,000 people. It simply
doesn't have the capacity to house, feed, or transport this many
individuals.
At various points, migration levels have been so high that Customs
and Border Protection did not have the resources to manage both lawful
crossings and unlawful migrations. As a result, the administration shut
down vehicle and rail processing so officers could help process
migrants.
Well, it is not surprising to say that frontline officers and agents
in Eagle Pass know the impact of the crisis better than just about
anyone. According to reports, they pushed Secretary Mayorkas on his
comments, and the Secretary finally acknowledged the truth. It was a
remarkable event of candor amidst a fog of lies, prevarication,
dissembling, and misleading.
This is just the latest example of the Biden administration
misleading, downplaying, and outright lying about the border crisis.
They don't want the American people to see the widespread catch-and-
release policies in action because they know the backlash would be
severe.
Here we are, about 11 months from the next election, and President
Biden has finally realized this is a huge liability for him
politically. Our Democratic colleagues are recognizing that this could
be the difference between winning and losing the Senate.
When 85 percent of illegal border crossers are released, it serves as
a magnet for even more migration. This is another thing that is lost on
the Biden administration. When you lay out the welcome mat, when you
say ``If you come to the border, we will just release you into the
interior,'' it is just an incentive for more people to come.
There is no grand mystery on how to stop this trend. While the
immigration policy can be complicated, the solution is not. We need
consequences--consequences. We need to make clear that anyone who
illegally crosses the border will be detained and removed. That is the
key to establishing deterrence, and we have seen it used successfully
in the past.
Let me just interject here that legal immigration has been one of the
biggest blessings this country has ever experienced. We among all the
nations in the world are the most open to people who want to come here
for a better life, but we ask them to do it through legal, humane, and
orderly channels. And we naturalize about 1 million people a year. But
President Biden has outsourced our immigration policy to the drug
cartels and criminal organizations, and it is a disaster.
Well, we know how to address this problem. In 2005, then-Secretary of
Homeland Security Michael Chertoff testified before the Senate
Judiciary Committee and spoke about the Department's response to a
surge of migrants from Brazil in that case. The Department launched
what they called Operation Texas Hold 'Em, which involved detaining and
then removing the illegal Brazilians they apprehended. As Secretary
Chertoff noted, word spread fast. Word spread fast. After 30 days, the
number of Brazilians dropped by 50 percent, and in 60 days, it dropped
by more than 90 percent.
This is evidence--clear and convincing evidence--that consequences
work, and the only way to address this crisis is through deterrence
that comes with imposing consequences for people coming illegally
rather than legally to the United States. We need to make it absolutely
crystal clear that anyone who does not have a legal basis to remain in
the United States will be detained and removed.
The Biden administration is ultimately responsible for enforcing our
laws and delivering consequences, so without their buy-in, it will be
nearly impossible to address this crisis in a significant way. But that
does not mean we shouldn't try. I have very little confidence that the
Biden administration will experience an epiphany and all of a sudden
decide to enforce the law when they have refused to do so over the last
3 years, but we have to do the best we can.
Frontline border communities and law enforcement are buckling under
the weight of this crisis. Fentanyl, which took the lives of 71,000
Americans last year alone, and other deadly drugs are pouring across
the border and killing American citizens. Migrant children are being
exploited and abused. All the while, the cartels and criminal
organizations that get rich based on these policies are leaving a trail
of death and destruction that the Biden administration has enabled.
The U.S. Senate has a responsibility to address this crisis head-on
as part of the security supplemental that President Biden has
requested, and I hope and pray we can make some progress.
I want to express my gratitude to the Senator from Oklahoma, Senator
Lankford, for leading the effort on the part of the Republican
conference. I know others, like Senator Sinema, Senator Murphy, and
others, are working in good faith to try to reach a reasonable
conclusion. But I know all of us want to see an end to this current
crisis, and any even incremental progress we might make as a result of
our debate and vote on the national security supplemental will
represent progress.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for
the quorum call be rescinded.
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The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The Senator from Kansas.
Mr. MORAN. Mr. President, I rise today to continue the conversation
that I have just appreciated hearing from my colleague from Texas,
Senator Cornyn.
I am once again on the floor to call attention to and express my
great concern for the continuing humanitarian and national security
crisis on our southern border.
Since President Biden took office, we have seen the largest year-to-
year increase in migrants crossing our southwest border. Congress has
provided resources for physical security, for walls and fencing and
personnel; however, to keep our Nation safe and secure, we need to
change the administration's policies.
While money and programs are important, the green light that this
administration's policies provide to encourage people to come here has
to come to an end. These are policies that encourage more migrants to
attempt to enter our country illegally, and then, once they enter,
there is no consequence.
I am increasingly concerned about this administration's carefree
attitude toward those seeking to abuse our asylum system and increase
the use of administrative parole. These policies bog down the asylum
system, making it harder for those it was designed to protect and help
to utilize it while also stretching thin our border personnel.
In fiscal year 2023 alone, the overworked men and women of U.S.
Customs and Border Protection had approximately 2.5 million encounters
along the southern border. The number of encounters in 2020--only 3
years earlier--was only 458,000. At the time, we thought that was a
terrible number to deal with, but it has gone from 458,000 to 2.5
million in 3 years.
The vast majority of those encounters are with people who claim to be
seeking asylum in our country. When someone arrives at the southern
border, whether they present at a designated point of entry or not,
that person only needs to say they are seeking asylum to be able to
take advantage of the policies instituted by President Biden and by
Secretary Mayorkas. Without being detained, these individuals are
provided an asylum hearing date at some time several years into the
future. Unsurprisingly--no surprise here at all--the majority of those
released under this process then fail to report as they were directed.
In December of 2023, border authorities were forced to deal with more
than 10,000 migrants crossing daily. In response to this, President
Biden and Secretary Mayorkas suspended rail service and closed the
international crossings at Eagle Pass and El Paso. This greatly harmed
our carriers' ability to move goods across the North American rail
network and to the North American consumers who rely upon them. Closing
the crossings limited grain exports from Kansas and elsewhere by nearly
a million bushels a day, and it had negative impacts on many other
agriculture commodities as well.
I raise that point because it is an example of where we are trying to
take something from here to fix the problem there. That is not a plan
or a policy, and it will not have a successful outcome because it is so
damaging when we remove Border Patrol from a railroad crossing to try
to impact the consequences of people crossing elsewhere along the
border. I join my colleague Senator Ricketts in calling for Secretary
Mayorkas to immediately reverse that harmful decision.
The magnitude of this crisis is felt all across the country, and it
is impacting every facet of our daily lives. A high school in New York
was recently forced to turn to remote learning for students because
their classrooms are being used to house nearly 2,000 migrants. Every
State is a border State now, and rather than providing tangible help to
legitimate asylum seekers, we are robbing our students of their
educations to make certain that migrants don't have to spend a night in
a tent.
A historic level of crossings at the southern border has not only
created a humanitarian crisis and put an incredible strain on our
immigration system, but it has seriously compromised our national
security. That is a topic of conversation here, as it should be, and I
believe that our country is facing one of the most dangerous times in
its history, with the forces that are allied around the globe to our
detriment.
The border, our southern border, is a significant component of
protecting our national security. The cartels that operate in Central
America are sophisticated, adaptable, and ruthless. Not only do they
take advantage of individuals who are attempting to trek to our
southern border by forcing them to pay thousands of dollars to fund
their operations and subject them to abuse and murder, but they use
these individuals to their strategic advantage. They will send
thousands of individuals across the border at the same time and attempt
to overwhelm and distract law enforcement while cartels bring guns and
deadly drugs like fentanyl undetected across those borders.
In addition to cartels, our national security is threatened by
potential espionage and terrorists. The last time I was at the border,
which was several months ago, I witnessed the apprehensions of two
Chinese nationals. What are Chinese nationals doing crossing our border
illegally?
As a member of the Appropriations Committee and as the top Republican
on the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, it is a priority
of mine to ensure our Federal law enforcement has the resources
necessary to keep Americans safe.
Yesterday was National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, and I use
this opportunity to thank the committed men and women who leave their
families every day to go out and protect and serve our communities and
our country. In the face of risk and challenge, these officers continue
to exemplify strength and courage and resiliency.
I can tell you, when I speak to law enforcement at home in Kansas,
almost without exception, the conversation turns to the circumstances
at the border and the consequences of the illegal activity that is
occurring there and then in Kansas as a result of those border
crossings.
Securing our southern border can't just be left to our frontline law
enforcement to handle alone. It is also law enforcement across the
country that is now struggling to make certain that the citizens across
the country are safe from what happens at our border.
We must prioritize additional border security measures that include a
physical barrier and investments in new technology. We must enforce our
immigration laws and work to reform our immigration so that we reward
those who follow the law, and we must disincentivize the illegal
crossings.
President Biden's and Secretary Mayorkas's years of inaction in
addressing this crisis have allowed a horrible--a horrible--situation
to get worse.
I take this moment to thank my colleague from Oklahoma, Senator
Lankford.
We are, hopefully in the near future, addressing the issue of the
world, its condition, and what it means to the safety and security of
Americans.
As I said a moment ago, I think we are in a very dangerous time for
Americans. The future of our country, as always, is at stake, but with
the actions of Russia in Ukraine; with what is taking place with Hamas
in Israel; with China's desire to expand and spread its influence
around the globe, to the detriment of the United States; and with Iran
and its terrorist activities, national security should be a top
priority. It is something that the Constitution of the United States
vests in us as being our primary responsibility--to protect and defend
the United States.
So we are in the process of figuring out our response to the
circumstances the United States faces around the globe, with an effort
to be supportive of our allies and to create challenges and
difficulties to win over our adversaries.
I applaud Senator Lankford's efforts, who is negotiating a border
policy to be included in our national security appropriations process.
It belongs there. It is important there. It is a national security
issue, and it is necessary to be included for us to be able to take
care of the issues we face around the globe.
I stand ready, as Senator Lankford knows, to work with him and to
work with my colleagues. We want to hold this administration
accountable. We
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want to promote a sound border security policy, and we want to put an
end to this crisis. We want to put an end to this crisis for the well-
being of the people of the United States of America and my constituents
at home in Kansas.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Cortez Masto). The Senator from New York.
Mrs. GILLIBRAND. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to display
photos of Gad Haggai and Judih Weinstein.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.