[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 30, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S5590]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 779--STRONGLY CONDEMNING THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION AND 
 ITS ``BORDER CZAR'', KAMALA HARRIS, FOR FAILING TO SECURE THE UNITED 
                             STATES BORDER

  Mrs. BLACKBURN submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs:

                              S. Res. 779

       Whereas, on March 24, 2021, President Biden asked Vice 
     President Kamala Harris to lead, as ``border czar'', the 
     Administration's diplomatic efforts to address the ``root 
     causes'' of illegal immigration into the United States from 
     El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras;
       Whereas Vice President Kamala Harris did not even visit the 
     southern border until June 25, 2021, 93 days after being 
     named ``border czar'';
       Whereas when Vice President Kamala Harris traveled near the 
     southern border for the first time on June 25, 2021, she 
     decided to travel to El Paso, Texas, which is located 800 
     miles from the Lower Rio Grande Valley;
       Whereas former United States Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz 
     stated that during his nearly 2 years in that position 
     between August 2021 and June 2023, he ``never had one 
     conversation with [President Biden] or the [Vice President 
     Harris], for that matter. I was the Chief of the Border 
     Patrol, I commanded 21,000 people. That's a problem.'';
       Whereas current United States Border Patrol Chief Jason 
     Owens stated that Vice President Kamala Harris has not spoken 
     with him since he was appointed in July 2023;
       Whereas, since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris became President 
     and Vice President, respectively there have been--
       (1) more than 9,700,000 illegal immigrant encounters 
     nationwide;
       (2) more than 7,900,000 illegal immigrant encounters at the 
     United States southern border; and
       (3) an estimated 2,000,000 known gotaways who evaded the 
     United States Border Patrol, which is more known gotaways 
     than evaded the Border Patrol during the entire previous 
     decade;
       Whereas, in May 2024, there were 170,723 illegal immigrant 
     encounters at the United States southern border, which 
     represents a 185 percent increase from the average May 
     encounter total during the administration of President Trump;
       Whereas May 2024 was the 39th straight month where monthly 
     illegal immigrant encounters have been higher than the 
     highest month under President Trump;
       Whereas illegal immigrants with violent criminal histories 
     who have murdered innocent Americans, including Laken Riley, 
     Jocelyn Nungary, Rachel Morin, and others throughout the 
     United States, pose an existential threat to the safety and 
     security of the American people;
       Whereas, in June 2024, NBC News reported that more than 50 
     illegal immigrants with ties to ISIS were on the loose in the 
     United States after having been released by officials of the 
     Biden administration;
       Whereas during the Biden administration, more than 350 
     illegal immigrants with ties to ISIS and whose names appear 
     on the terrorist watch list were stopped while trying to 
     cross the southern border;
       Whereas, during less than the first 10 months of fiscal 
     year 2024, a record-breaking 31,077 Communist Chinese 
     nationals have been encountered at the southwest border;
       Whereas the Biden border crisis is costing the United 
     States approximately $150,700,000,000 each year, which equals 
     an annual cost of $1,156 per taxpayer;
       Whereas, in May 2024, Republican members of the Committee 
     on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate 
     released documents showing the Biden administration secretly 
     flew more than 400,000 illegal immigrants into the United 
     States;
       Whereas the far left open border policies of President 
     Biden, ``border czar'' Harris, and the Democratic Party are 
     to blame for this historic immigration crisis; and
       Whereas in August 2022, President Biden' administration 
     decided to make the border crisis significantly worse by 
     formally ending former President Trump's successful Remain in 
     Mexico program: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) strongly condemns the Biden administration and ``border 
     czar'' Kamala Harris for failing to secure the United States 
     border;
       (2) affirms that the people of the United States deserve 
     elected officials who--
       (A) understand the gravity of the crisis at the border; and
       (B) will execute policies that will fix the border crisis; 
     and
       (3) clearly and firmly states that the continuation of the 
     Biden-Harris border policies would be disastrous for the 
     United States and its citizens.

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