[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 28, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SERIOUS DEBATE ON IMMIGRATION

  (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, sometime in the next month, there is going 
to finally be a serious debate on the number of people streaming across 
our border. It may be over an appropriations bill. It may be over an 
aid bill to Ukraine. There are going to be a lot of people who say 
there are other issues more important than this and to just wait a 
little longer to solve the problem at the border.
  We have waited for 3 years to do something at the border as the Biden 
administration has watched the number of people who crossed the border 
every month go from 10,000 to 20,000 to 370,000 people. That is 
unacceptable.
  We had testimony in my subcommittee last week that the people who are 
coming across the border are 3\1/2\ to 4 times as likely to commit a 
crime as the native-born, and we saw tragedy in Atlanta just on that 
topic.
  We know very well, if you talk to people, that all of these people 
streaming across here have to live somewhere and are partly responsible 
for the increase in rental costs that we have across our country.
  We don't want to shut down the government, and we don't want to say 
no more aid to Ukraine, but we have no choice. If it is not now, when? 
We have waited 3 years.

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