No American is Safe

Floor Speech

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Mr. STRONG. Madam Speaker, I rise because no American is safe.

The United States Secretary of Homeland Security says that the American border is secure. The American people know better.

Two adults attempted to climb the U.S. border fence the day we got there. They fell and were critically injured. American taxpayers are paying the bill.

Hospitals are inundated with non-U.S. citizens. They are not paying a dime for care.

Schools and teachers are attempting to teach students that are here unlawfully. Many don't speak English, and they are delaying the education of those who do.

Illegal aliens attacked a Border Patrol agent while we were there. They are trying to kill American law enforcement agents. Under this administration, these agents in many cases are instructed to respond by firing pepper balls.

Some schools are placed on lockdown 4 to 10 times a week because Border Patrol agents are chasing drug dealers and human smugglers that have crossed the border and entered their elementary and middle school campuses.

Cartel members are recruiting 11- to 14-year-old children to drive vehicles to smuggle illegal aliens through multiple States and counties.

Practically everyone crossing illegally claims asylum. Think about it, they are coming from Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia, Haiti, Cuba, El Salvador, Iran, and, yes, they are coming from China, too. They are flying, in many cases, to the southern border to cross illegally.

Our meeting at the border port of entry had to be delayed because a mule tried to smuggle 70 pounds of cocaine right in front of 12 United States Congressmen.

The American people are being told by the Secretary of Homeland Security that our borders are secure. There is nothing further from the truth. While heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, and human smuggling are flowing into our country at alarming rates, America is under attack.

The same laws in effect today were in effect when Donald Trump was President of the United States of America. You can talk about him all you want, but tell the facts. He sent them back and protected America.

Two weeks ago, President Trump's Border Patrol chief, Rodney Scott, gave us a brief. He said the problem is not with the laws; the problem is with this administration because they are not enforcing the laws that are already on the books. It is time to return these that are invading our country at the southern border to the country of their origin immediately.

On average, 300 United States men, women, and children are dying every day by overdose. EMTs, paramedics, nurses, doctors, and emergency rooms see it every day. America is under attack.

On our visit to the border, we met with Texas National Guard, United States Homeland Security, Border Patrol, Customs and Immigration, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Texas State Troopers.

Not one of these agencies or officials we met with could say that the U.S. border was secure. Not one.

Drug overdoses are a common occurrence in every county and city in America. This threat to America does not discriminate; rich, poor, Black, White. This is not a Democratic issue, nor is it a Republican issue. It is an American issue. Our country is under attack.

No American is safe, and the American people deserve better.

During our trip, I was reminded that on his first day in office, the President terminated the emergency declaration at the southern border and halted border wall construction.

Over the last 2 years, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol have encountered over 4.7 million illegal immigrants trying to enter our country. That does not include the 1.2 million that have evaded Border Patrol. Yet, the administration tells the American people that the border is under control.

If our border is secure, then why over the last 2 years has the administration continued to send troops to our border? That alone signals to every American that we have a problem.

Why are they stopping border wall construction, which is an important first step in securing our border? I will introduce legislation to address this question.

My bill will resume border wall construction and ensure the President cannot withhold resources while sending our troops to the front line. Our country is under attack.

I am proud to introduce this legislation and other measures to ensure that if the administration expects our troops to defend our border, then we expect the administration to provide every tool, resource, and means of support to each of our brave men and women protecting our homeland security.

My fellow Americans, our country is under attack.

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