LEGISLATIVE SESSION--Border Security
Congressional Record Vol. 169, No. 205
(Senate - December 13, 2023) PDF
Mrs. HYDE-SMITH. Mr. President, I rise today to once again call
attention to the crisis at our southern border--the very crisis the
Biden administration refuses to acknowledge and in not doing so, fails
the American people.
It is a simple fact: There is no national security without border
security; and everyone knows our border is anything but secure. We have
the numbers to back it up.
For starters, more than 8.2 million illegal immigrants have crossed
the border since Biden took office. To kick off fiscal year 2024, there
were over 240,000 illegal immigrant encounters in October, the highest
monthly total ever recorded. This comes after a record-setting fiscal
year 2023, which saw more than 2.4 million encounters. Of the 2.4
million, at least 169 individuals are on the Terror Watchlist. But what
is really frightening is that these numbers only reflect the known
encounters and doesn't even include all of those who evaded law
enforcement--the "got-aways." Border officials estimate that there
were 1.7 million "got-aways," any number of which could be on the
Terror Watchlist living in our country with who knows what intentions.
Even with all of this information available, the administration
continues to break all the wrong records. In the last several weeks,
daily records have been smashed time and again with known daily
encounters ranging from 10,000 to 12,000. For context, President
Obama's DHS Secretary said that 1,000 a day ``overwhelms the system.''
We have heard from officials such as FBI Director Wray expressing his
concern regarding the ability of terrorist organizations to exploit any
port of entry, including our southwestern border. Warnings such as
these should not be ignored, and yet it appears this administration
will continue to do exactly that.
But encounters are only part of the ongoing crisis. In October, over
1,300 pounds of fentanyl and over 9,500 pounds of meth were seized--and
that is only what was seized. Estimates show that this is only 5 to 10
percent of the illicit drugs coming across the border. These drugs
continue to run rampant in our communities at a devastating cost,
including in my rural State of Mississippi.
The CDC says overdose deaths are up from last year, meaning more and
more families and communities are being broken apart by the circulation
of dangerous drug smugglers across the border. And even worse than the
drugs being smuggled across the border are the humans the cartels are
smuggling.
I have spoken before about my trip to the border--the one earlier
this year--and the horrific stories of girls, 12- to 16-years old,
being smuggled against their will, has stayed with me. The human
trafficking industry has grown in the last several years to a $13
billion industry. And this will only continue to grow if the border
continues to be an access point for traffickers.
I do not blame the brave men and women working to do their best to
help patrol the border. I blame solely--all of this--on the Biden
administration and Democrats for their unwillingness to work in a
serious manner to help secure the border and keep criminals and drugs
out of our communities. Border Patrol agents are not given the
resources they need to stop the never-ending onslaught of migrants,
drugs, and traffickers. Even the border security's provision in the
President's emergency supplemental request amount is just more money to
process illegal immigrants with no real policy or enforcement reforms.
I am hearing from law enforcement back home in Mississippi and how
the crisis is affecting my State. As many have said, today, every State
is a border State because of this crisis.
On January 18, 2023, a Mississippi Highway Patrol trooper made a
routine traffic stop. In the vehicle was an illegal immigrant driving
without a license and an additional three illegal adult males and one
7-year-old migrant child. After Homeland Security Investigations was
contacted, the driver attempted to flee on foot and was captured. The
HSI determined the child was not related to anyone in the vehicle.
Charges are pending on the driver and HSI is attempting to identify the
child and reunite him with family.
In another incident on October 9, 2023, a Mississippi Highway Patrol
trooper identified another illegal immigrant driving on I-10 in Jackson
County with no ID. A passenger, also an illegal immigrant, revealed
that they were on their way to Houston, TX, to pick up another man, a
woman, and three or four children. After a legal search of the vehicle,
items consistent with human trafficking were discovered. A Border
Patrol agent was notified, and, turns out, the driver was a repeat
offender, illegally reentering the United States after deportation.
If I am hearing from law enforcement in my State, I know that my
colleagues are too.
I applaud the efforts of the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the U.S.
Border Patrol for taking action, but the fact remains that if the
resources were already at the border, this would have never happened.
Senate Republicans have shown Americans time and time again that we
are ready to take steps to stop the growing threat at the southern
border. Unfortunately, our Democratic colleagues will not take action
with us, appearing afraid to anger their radical base.
Giving our Border Patrol agents the means to do their job is not
radical. Fortifying our border by ending catch-and-release, closing
asylum loopholes, finishing the wall, and supporting law enforcement
officers is key to our national security. And we owe our citizens no
less.
I, along with my Republican colleagues, will continue to work toward
solutions; and I invite Senate Democrats and the administration to join
us so we can finally secure our borders and keep the American people
safe and alleviate the Biden-caused humanitarian crisis at the border.
I yield the floor.