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Border Security
Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, during my time in the Senate and even prior, when I had the honor of serving as Texas attorney general, I spent a lot of time in our border communities working with the mayors, county judges, private land owners, nongovernmental organizations, and law enforcement at every level. The majority of these men and women have lived along the Texas-Mexico border for their entire lives. They have witnessed the impact of policies from Washington from different administrations. They have seen spikes and dips in migration. They have reaped the benefits of legitimate trade and commerce, and they have dealt with the consequences of security failures. In short, they have seen a lot. But virtually everyone agrees that they have never seen anything like President Biden's present border crisis.
Over the first 2 years of the Biden administration, we have broken one record after another when it comes to migration. Here are some shocking statistics. U.S. Customs and Border Protection logged nearly 2.4 million border crossings during a single year. During 1 month alone, the Agency encountered more than a quarter of a million migrants.
The scope and scale of this crisis is absolutely unprecedented, and it is having a major impact on our border security missions. When highly trained and professional Border Patrol agents are spending their time passing out meals and doing administrative tasks, they aren't able to do what they train for, what they want to do, which is to stop drugs like fentanyl, which killed more than 70,000 Americans last year alone.
I was able to meet with some parents who lost their teenage children to fentanyl poisoning last week in Hays County school district right outside of Austin, TX. It was among the most emotional events I have ever attended, because these parents had happy, healthy teenage children going to high school, who took something they thought was a relatively innocuous pill, only to find out it was contaminated with a minute amount of fentanyl, and it took their lives. These parents want us to stop the flow of these drugs across the southwestern border.
When the Border Patrol is not on the frontlines, they are not able to stop the transnational criminals, the cartel members, or other people on the terrorist watch list from sneaking into the United States.
A few weeks ago, I traveled with a bipartisan delegation of Senators to El Paso and then to Yuma--Yuma, AZ, a southwestern part of Arizona--
a sleepy, little agricultural community. The Border Patrol Sector Chief told us that they encountered people speaking as many as 200 languages from 176 different countries at that little, sleepy border community in southwestern Arizona.
As it turns out, there is a major airport in Mexicali, in northern Mexico, just across from Yuma, and people were literally flying there from around the world and turning up at the Border Patrol sector and claiming asylum, people from 176 different countries. These are people who are exploiting the vulnerabilities in our asylum system--something we can and we should fix, but so far, there has been no cooperation in order to fix our broken asylum system.
Over the years, I have had the pleasure of taking a number of colleagues to the Texas southern border to see these dynamics up close and learn from the experts on the ground.
The distinguished Presiding Officer comes from a border State. I must say, my impression is that for many people who don't live in a border State or have the experience we have as border State Senators, most of what they think they know about the border they have learned in the movies or by reading novels; in other words, it is not reality. That is why it is so important to go to the border.
As I mentioned, in January, a bipartisan group of seven of our colleagues joined me in El Paso and then Yuma. But in El Paso, a place where President Biden finally visited the day before we got there, the circumstances were so severe that migrants were sleeping on city sidewalks in freezing temperatures because shelters were at capacity. They have been overwhelmed like everything else on the border. My colleagues were able to see for themselves the impact of this crisis on law enforcement and on the nonprofit organizations like Catholic Charities and others, which were trying to help these migrants in very difficult circumstances.
It was a busy and productive trip. But I am eager to return this evening to the Texas southern border with another group of colleagues. Senator Thune from South Dakota, Senator Wicker from Mississippi, Senators Fisher and Ricketts from Nebraska, and Senator Britt from Alabama will join me for a series of tours and meetings in the Rio Grande Valley starting this evening. We will receive a tour of the border from some of the dedicated law enforcement officials who protect it. We will get an up-close look at one of the Border Patrol's processing centers and learn more about the challenges they are facing due to the sheer volume of migrants crossing the border every day.
One reason for this increased volume is not because of increased poverty or violence in communities in Mexico or Central America; it is because of what the Border Patrol calls the pool factors--that is, the impression that you can come to America's doorstep, and you can make your way into the United States and live the rest of your life because there are no consequences to coming to the United States outside of a legal, orderly, humane process. That is why we are seeing this unprecedented border crisis as a result of those policies and that perception, which is reality.
We will talk to local law enforcement officials as well--the sheriffs--and the private land owners on how this flood of humanity is impacting their communities. We will receive briefings from Federal, State, and local law enforcement about efforts to secure the border.
We had Attorney General Garland testify in front of the Judiciary Committee yesterday, and we asked him about the 108,000 Americans who died as a result of overdoses from drugs that come across the southwestern border. He said: Well, we are doing everything we can. Then eventually he said: Well, we need more money. Then he said: Well, this isn't really my job. He said that is the job of the Department of Homeland Security. In other words, he was passing the buck. Meanwhile, the flood of humanity continues, and the flood of deadly drugs continues as well.
It is important that as many Senators as possible see and understand the dynamics of what has happened. If we are going to have a shot at fixing this mess, which can only happen on a bipartisan basis, then everyone needs to know what we are up against.
I appreciate my colleagues--these colleagues, as well as other colleagues--who have taken the time to visit the border and learn from the people who know it best. They are the true experts. I am grateful for everything they do to promote the security and prosperity of our border communities.
I am especially thankful that they take the time to share their perspective with our other Senate colleagues so we can work together to, hopefully, finally address this crisis.
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 169, No. 40
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