[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.

[[Page S60]]

  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.