Border Security

Floor Speech

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Mr. GIANFORTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Missouri for focusing the attention of this Chamber on this crisis at our border and the need for reform.

America's borders have been too open for too long. As a result, we face a humanitarian and national security crisis that is getting worse. Congress has a responsibility to the American people to address it.

Providing for our Nation's security is the chief function of the Federal Government. It is past time for leaders on the other side of the aisle to get serious, do their jobs, stop playing political games, and secure our border.

What is happening at the border and to those seeking to enter our country illegally is a tragedy. More than 30 percent of migrant women making the trip to our southern border have been sexually assaulted during their journey. More than two-thirds of all migrants making the trek have reported violence.

Our broken immigration system encourages parents to send their kids on a dangerous journey by themselves.

The humanitarian tragedy is one element. Our open borders are also a threat to national security and community safety. Drug cartels, gangs, and human traffickers are exploiting our weak borders and bringing crime into our communities.

Last year, Border Patrol agents arrested 17,000 individuals with criminal records. About 800 gang members were caught trying to cross the border.

The crisis extends to Montana where our epidemic of meth use tears apart families and threatens our communities.

However, we no longer have Montana meth because of the good work of our law enforcement. Now we have Mexican meth. Law enforcement in Fergus County, Montana, tells me that they know when a shipment from Mexico arrives because they see an increase in crime. Domestic violence, burglaries, and violence are the result of Mexican meth coming into Montana communities.

Law enforcement in the State also told me that, in addition to an uptick in crime, addiction has left more families broken apart and more kids in foster care.

Law enforcement tells me that over 90 percent of all the crime we have in Montana is addiction-related.

The humanitarian crisis is not limited to our border. We can see it in our communities: crime, violence, and broken families. We must secure our border.

One element of improving border security is a wall or a physical barrier. Walls work. The results bear it out. Walls at the border in San Diego, El Paso, Tucson, and Yuma have seen dramatic declines in the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border.

Facing an increasing humanitarian and national security crisis, it is past time that leaders across the aisle focus on securing the border. End the games. Get the job done and secure the border.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman for the time and for her leadership on this issue.

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Mr. GIANFORTE. We must act.

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