[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 22, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H3409-H3410]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 DIRE SITUATION AT THE SOUTHERN BORDER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Edwards) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. EDWARDS. Madam Speaker, today I rise on behalf of my constituents 
in western North Carolina to highlight the dire situation at the 
southern border and to advocate for the enforcement of our Nation's 
immigration laws.
  The Biden administration continues to break records and not in a good 
way.
  The number of individuals on the terrorist watch list that were 
apprehended illegally crossing the southwest border increased 2,500 
percent from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2023, and a record-
breaking 301,000 migrants were caught trying to illegally enter our 
country in the month of December alone.
  Our country's border control agents are overwhelmed, and they are 
underfunded.
  What has President Biden done? He has done nothing but open our 
southern border up to more illegal immigrants and chaos.
  I went to the Tucson sector of the southern border last year to 
witness the crisis for myself. I saw millions of taxpayer dollars in 
the form of unused border wall materials rusting away in the hot 
Arizona sun.

                              {time}  1100

  Local law enforcement pointed out to me where the border wall ends at 
the top of a hill and shared how cartel members sit on the Mexico side 
of the mountain peak to serve as a lookout. These cartel members are 
able to see for miles and signal to illegal immigrants when the coast 
is clear so that migrants can then flood our open border.
  Many of the illegal immigrants trying to cross our border are 
military-aged men. They are not families and children. They are cartel 
members trying to smuggle fentanyl into our borders and cause harm to 
our communities. Local law enforcement shared how difficult it has been 
to step up when executives in the Federal Government refuse to 
prioritize our national security.
  I sympathize with Cochise County law enforcement, and I think every 
law enforcement officer across this country can sympathize, too.
  Sheriffs across this country have told me that they have asked to 
meet with Joe Biden to tell him firsthand of the problems that they are 
having and their request, for some reason, has not been granted. Why 
won't the President not meet with them? Is he afraid of the truth?
  Since 2021, America has seen an unprecedented surge at our southern 
border. Customs and Border Patrol reports over 7.6 million encounters, 
and the Secretary of Homeland Security has affirmed more than 85 
percent of the migrants caught illegally crossing our southern border 
are ultimately released back into the country. That is nearly 6.5 
million migrants released into the interior of the United States by the 
Department of Homeland Security since January 2021.
  Now, we have record levels of fentanyl flowing across our borders, 
courtesy of the Mexican cartels. Over 27,000 pounds were seized last 
year, and it is destroying the very fabric of our communities.
  In 2022 alone, illicit opioids claimed the lives of 313 members of my 
district. That is 313 sets of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, 
friends, and loved ones gone due to drug trafficking promoted at our 
southern border and ignored by our country's President.
  During my time in Congress, I have written, cosponsored, and helped 
pass legislation in the House to secure the southern border and end 
this administration's radical and dangerous border policies. I was 
proud to cosponsor and vote for H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act over 
a year ago, last May.
  Senate Democrats and President Biden could take real concrete steps 
to solve this migration crisis and to address everything from court 
backlogs to the trafficking of unaccompanied children if they would 
just get behind H.R. 2, but they haven't.
  Why are Democrats so adamantly opposed to commonsense legislation to 
protect Americans and close our southern border once and for all? 
Instead of supporting the strongest border security package in American 
history, the Senate has proposed a do-nothing border bill that enriches 
criminal networks, uses taxpayer dollars to fund organizations that 
facilitate mass illegal immigration, and codifies Biden's open-border 
policies like catch and release.

[[Page H3410]]

  As terrorists, drugs, and weapons flow freely into our country, I 
believe that we should be putting the American people first, not 
playing political patty-cake.

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