[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 20 (Monday, February 5, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H412]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           IT IS EASY ENOUGH FOR PEOPLE TO COME HERE LEGALLY

  (Mr. GROTHMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, obviously the biggest issue facing America 
today is the huge volume of people coming across our southern border. 
We recently had 1 month in which 370,000 unvetted people crossed the 
southern border.
  In debating this topic, I sometimes hear people say it is important 
and the United States has an obligation to let some new people in our 
country every year. That is true, but what is not talked about enough 
is that we just got done with a year in which 950,000 Americans were 
legally sworn in.
  This is a number that goes up and down over time, but over the last 4 
years, the average number of people who are sworn in as new American 
citizens, and find a way to do it legally, is over 800,000. It is the 
highest ever in this country's history.
  If you go back to when I was a child in the 1960s and the 1950s, it 
was more likely to be 200,000.
  Throughout most of my life, we have had 200,000 to 250,000 people 
being sworn in every year. We are now over 800,000 in an average month. 
Last year, we were up to 950,000. It is easy enough for people to come 
here legally.

                          ____________________