[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 202 (Wednesday, December 3, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8457-S8458]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Honoring Specialist Sarah Beckstrom
Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, on Thanksgiving Day, 20-year-old Sarah
Beckstrom should have been at home celebrating the holiday with her
family. Instead, she lost her life, murdered 1 day before Thanksgiving.
Her killer is an Afghan national--someone Joe Biden flew into this
country without proper vetting.
Sarah served in the West Virginia National Guard. She wore the
uniform of the U.S. Army. She was murdered on American soil by someone
who never should have been here.
This is the tragic cost of Joe Biden's open border policies. It is
also a sign of national security weakness. For 4 years, Joe Biden and
pro-crime Democrats turned our border into a New York City subway
turnstile--no fare enforced; just hop right on in. It was routine for
10,000 illegal immigrants to flood across our Nation's southern border
on a daily basis. Criminals, gang members, drug traffickers,
terrorists--they all came in. For these failed policies, Americans have
paid the price: Laken Riley in Georgia, Rachel Morin in Maryland, and
many, many others.
Today, President Trump and Republicans are ending the chaos, securing
the border in record time, and getting America back on track. We acted
fast. We started here in the Senate with the Laken Riley Act. It was
the first piece of legislation President Trump signed into law. It
mandates that illegal immigrant criminals be detained and moved.
Republicans ended catch-and-release. We stopped the illegal invasion
into our country. For the past 6 months, zero--zero--illegal immigrants
have been released into our country. Under Joe Biden, it was often
10,000 a day.
For the first time in 17 years, the backlog of immigration cases is
actually going down. Immigration judges can finally do their job. Open
border, rubberstamping judges are gone. Interior enforcement is making
our communities safer. Seventy percent of ICE arrests are illegal
immigrant criminals. They are individuals charged with or convicted of
crimes in the United States.
During the week of Thanksgiving, ICE worked overtime. They arrested a
convicted murderer in California, a convicted rapist in Tennessee, and
a convicted drug trafficker in Delaware. Every one of these arrests
makes our country safer. These criminals and many more are off our
streets because Republicans have acted.
We didn't just secure the border for today, we secured it into the
future because, in July, Republicans passed and President Trump signed
into law the largest border security investment in American history,
$170 billion. The law finishes the wall, it provides $75 billion for
ICE, and gives our agents the resources they need to continue to deport
illegal immigrant criminals. Our law helps train, hire, and retain
Border Patrol agents. It even gives them a bonus.
Republicans have made a generational investment in American border
security. Every Democrat in the Senate voted against it. Republicans
voted
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to deport illegal immigrant criminals; Democrats voted to keep them in
our communities. Republicans voted to secure the border; Democrats
voted to keep it wide open. Republicans voted to hire Border Patrol
agents; Democrats voted for free healthcare for illegal immigrants.
The dangers from Joe Biden's open policies remain today, and it is
serious because millions of illegal immigrants are still here. Among
them are criminals, cartel members, drug dealers, and terror suspects.
We are tracking them down, and we are sending them home.
The damage Democrats have inflicted on our country runs deeper than
most Americans realize, more than they know. Let's look at the
situation right now in Minnesota. This week, the New York Times
reported that immigrants from Somalia living in Minnesota have been
defrauding American taxpayers out of $1 billion--$1 billion--living in
Minnesota, immigrants from Somalia.
Investigators from the magazine City Journal found where the stolen
money went. As they say, ``follow the money.'' According to their
reporting, the largest funder of al-Shabaab--which, as you know, is a
terrorist organization affiliated with al-Qaida--the largest funder of
al-Shabaab is the Minnesota taxpayer. How could that be? How could it
be that American taxpayers are funding a group affiliated with al-
Qaida? Taxpayers didn't know it, weren't aware of it.
Here is how the scheme worked: Fraudsters created fake companies that
exist only on paper. They billed the government for services never
provided, or they enrolled children in programs that they didn't need.
Then they funneled the stolen money out of our country. Some went to
buy luxury cars and real estate, some went directly to al-Shabaab. This
was organized, systematic theft. It went on for years under Democratic
leadership, and then it exploded under Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and
her Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz, the current Governor of
Minnesota.
No one stopped it until President Trump was elected. Then, this is
what happened: In June, President Trump appointed Joe Thompson as the
acting U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota. Thompson
immediately began bringing charges. So far, dozens of defendants have
been charged. This is what Thompson discovered.
He said:
What we see are schemes stacked upon schemes draining
resources meant for those in need.
``[m]eant for those in need.''
Safety net programs, draining those resources.
``The depth of the fraud,'' he went on, ``takes my breath away.'' It
should take away the breath of all Americans when they see what was
going on in Minnesota. The most fascinating thing is it doesn't take
the breath away of the Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. Oh, no, on Sunday,
he was on ``Meet the Press'' talking to the Nation. You would think he
would have expressed outrage. No, he made excuses. Instead of
condemning the fraud, condemning the theft, condemning the funneling of
taxpayer money overseas to a terrorist organization, he claimed the
problem was President Trump. He must be back on his old talking points
from the campaign where Trump won in a landslide.
Walz said we need to be ``careful'' about how we talk. Think about
that. American taxpayer dollars funding terrorism funneled out of the
country, and Democrats want us to be ``careful'' about how we talk. He
is worried about our tone.
Here is what the Minnesota Governor will not tell you. Many of those
charged have close ties to Minnesota Democrats. He doesn't want you to
look over there, oh, no, including the socialist Squad member
Representative Omar. That is why Democrats want to sweep it under the
rug, want to hide it from public view: No, no. Look at President Trump.
Don't look at us.
This is what is wrong: When Democrats prioritize open borders, what
do we get? Waste, fraud, abuse, and corruption. And the Democrats look
the other way. Because President Trump won, we are bringing these
criminals to justice.
According to the latest Harvard-Harris poll, 8 in 10 Americans
support deporting illegal criminals. That includes 7 in 10 Democrats. I
am not sure how many of those would fit in this Senate Chamber on the
Democrat side of the aisle, but 7 to 10 Democrats across the country
are supportive of deportation of illegal immigrant criminals. Three in
four Americans want the government to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse
and corruption. I am not sure who doesn't want us to eliminate that.
Three out of four Americans say get rid of it, and I agree. Seven in
ten support closing the border with enhanced security, and that is
exactly what we are doing.
It is not complicated. Americans oppose illegal immigration, support
border security, and want criminal illegal immigrants removed.
Republicans work for the American people, not for the open border
activists across the aisle.
Americans deserve secure borders, deserve safe communities. That is
what Republicans are continuing to deliver. We are securing Americans
borders, protecting American families, and we are making America safer.