[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 4, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3940-S3941]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, a couple of weeks ago at a White House 
press briefing, the President's Press Secretary was asked why the 
President isn't doing anything on the border, given the fact that he 
has the authority to act unilaterally. And the White House Press 
Secretary responded:

       But why should he have to do it unilaterally?

  Why should he have to do it unilaterally? It was, perhaps, a typical 
response from a White House that would like to portray itself as the 
victim of the border crisis rather than the cause, a White House that 
would prefer Congress take action on the border rather than run the 
risk of taking action itself and annoying some Democratic voters. But 
it was an outrageous statement, nonetheless.

  Why should he have to do it unilaterally? Well, for starters, because 
President Biden is the President and thus bears a special 
responsibility for our national security and because, as President, he 
has the authority to take a number of measures to help secure our 
Nation's border. For a President not to do anything in the face of the 
kind of crisis we are dealing with is unconscionable. But most of all, 
President Biden should be taking action because he is responsible for 
this border crisis.
  Why should he have to take action unilaterally? Because he created 
this border crisis unilaterally. On the day he took office, the 
President began dismantling the border security policies of his 
predecessor, and illegal immigration began surging in response. It has

[[Page S3941]]

never stopped. The President has presided over not 1, not 2, but 3 
successive years of recordbreaking illegal immigration. With more than 
a million and a half illegal crossings so far this year, it is entirely 
possible he could end up presiding over a fourth.
  Those recordbreaking immigration numbers I mentioned don't even 
convey the full magnitude of the problem. In addition to the staggering 
7.8 million-plus illegal border encounters recorded under President 
Biden, we have also seen huge numbers of ``got-aways,'' and those are 
individuals that the Border Patrol saw but was unable to apprehend. Of 
course we have no idea how many unknown ``got-aways'' there have been, 
and that is a serious national security problem.
  When turning yourself in to the Border Patrol with a claim for asylum 
is likely to result in years of essentially legal permanent residence 
or, as we discovered this weekend, de facto amnesty, it is especially 
concerning that we have hundreds of thousands of individuals choosing 
not to turn themselves in and escaping into the interior of the 
country. Some of them may simply be in search of a better life, but it 
is highly likely that others may have more malign intentions.
  U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens, in a March interview with CBS 
News, said the number of known ``got-aways'' is keeping him up at 
night. This is his quote:

       That is a national security threat. Border security is a 
     big piece of national security. And if we don't know who is 
     coming into our country and we don't know what their intent 
     is, that is a threat. And they're exploiting a vulnerability 
     that's on our border right now.

  That same month, FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate Select 
Committee on Intelligence:

       We are seeing a wide array of very dangerous threats that 
     emanate from the border.

  Let me repeat that. From the FBI Director: ``We are seeing a wide 
array of very dangerous threats that emanate from the border.''
  He also noted, alarmingly:

       There is a particular network that has--where some of the 
     overseas facilitators of the smuggling network have ISIS ties 
     that we're very concerned about.
       There is a particular network that has--where some of the 
     overseas facilitators of the smuggling network have ISIS ties 
     that we're very concerned about.

  As I said, it would be unconscionable for any President to stand by 
and watch a crisis like the one we are facing at our southern border 
without taking action. The fact that President Biden has allowed this 
national security crisis to rage for 3-plus years unchecked is a 
betrayal of his responsibilities as President.
  While protecting our national security may not have motivated this 
President, protecting his election prospects apparently does. With 
polls showing immigration as a top issue, Democrats have been rushing 
to give the impression that they are serious about border security. Now 
we are hearing that President Biden may be announcing measures to 
secure the border, possibly as soon as today. I will believe it when I 
see it, especially given this weekend's report that the Biden 
administration has been offering mass amnesty to hundreds of thousands 
of individuals whose asylum cases have been closed without a decision.
  It does sound like the President will be announcing something, and I 
hope it will involve some real reforms. But it is disturbing that it is 
taking the fear of losing an election to motivate the President to take 
action on a national security crisis that has raged for more than 3 
years, and it raises serious questions about how long the President's 
interest in border security will last. If he wins another term, will he 
still care about the border, or does it take an election to keep him 
motivated about his national security responsibilities?
  At any rate, if concern for our national security won't do it, let's 
hope that his fear of defeat in November will indeed motivate the 
President to actually get the situation at our southern border under 
control. Given his record so far, though, I am not holding my breath.
  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. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Padilla). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.