[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 93 (Tuesday, June 2, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2490-S2491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Border Security

  Mr. YOUNG. Mr. President, I cannot be the only Member of this body to 
notice that several words and phrases are used a lot less on the Senate 
floor these days. Among those words and phrases are ``open borders,'' 
``illegal crossings,'' ``catch-and-release,'' and ``migration surges.''
  You see, these terms have been dropped from our debates and are no 
longer in the news because President Trump and Republicans in Congress 
helped largely close the border--close the border to illegal 
immigrants.
  With support from this President and this Republican Congress, our 
law enforcement personnel ceased catch-and-release and stopped the 
record migration surges.
  This--this--is what the American people elected us to do: to end the 
chaos at the southern border and block the flow of illegal immigrants 
into our communities. And we did these things so effectively, it has 
almost gone unnoticed.
  Of course, there were some Members who denied there was a crisis in 
the first place. There were all sorts of commentators who decided to 
look the other way. The numbers from one administration to the next 
tell a different story, though. Let's revisit those numbers.
  From 2021 to 2024, over 10 million illegal immigrants crossed the 
southern border, and this was by design. You see, President Joe Biden 
paused deportations. He laxed requirements for asylum seekers. He ended 
construction of a border wall. If you go down there today, you see 
remnants of it. He suspended ``Remain in Mexico.''
  The previous administration created an influx of illegal immigrants 
and, in the process, endangered public safety and taxed resources in 
communities along and far from the border.
  These policies also undermined Americans' faith in legal immigration. 
They undermined faith in legal immigration. Yes, my constituents 
understand we are a nation of immigrants, but our faith was shaken 
because the previous administration prioritized lawbreakers over those 
who wished to come to America legally and embrace our values.
  As soon as he was inaugurated, President Trump increased the number 
of troops along the southern border. He began deporting illegal 
immigrants, and he reinstated ``Remain in Mexico.''
  And Republicans in Congress, we did our part too. In the Big 
Beautiful Bill passed by this Congress and signed into law by President 
Trump a year ago, we increased resources to secure the border and to 
combat drug smuggling and human trafficking across the Nation.
  The bill contained funding for additional Border Patrol agents. As a 
result, the screening and vetting of illegal immigrants increased 
markedly. And we increased funding for the Department of Justice, and 
that enabled the hiring of additional immigration

[[Page S2491]]

judges to clear out the backlog of asylum cases.
  Now, today, the results speak for themselves. These numbers are 
compelling. They are breathtaking. In November 2024, there were 106,333 
reported border encounters. In January 2025, the number dropped to 
61,465. Think about that. From November 2024 to January 2025, the 
number dropped from over 106,000 to 61,000. It was down to 8,000--8,326 
to be exact--by the next month.
  And a year later, in April 2026, apprehensions on the southern border 
were 94 percent lower than the monthly average during the Biden 
administration presidency. Imagine that: 94 percent lower.
  What about the seizure of drugs? The seizure of drugs--cocaine, 
methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana--has increased, by 
weight, 60 percent--60 percent--since just April of 2024. And we just 
marked an entire year of zero releases at the southern border.
  Now, a nation that does not control its borders--that cannot enforce 
its laws--is a nation that willingly surrenders its sovereignty or, as 
Ronald Reagan once put it:

       A nation that cannot control its borders is not truly a 
     nation.

  Abandoning our right to determine who participates in that process--
indiscriminately allowing all comers to enter our country--it endangers 
our citizens, it burdens our taxpayers, and it makes a mockery of the 
rule of law.
  It is also dangerous to the immigrants themselves, many of whom 
perish on their way to our southern border. Americans realized this, 
even if some of their leaders did not. And this is why President Trump 
and congressional Republicans acted with a bias for action so that we 
might end the border crisis.
  And how can you tell? The relative silence in the mainstream media 
and on this floor from many of our Democratic colleagues tells you all 
you need to know.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.