-9999
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. President, we have really heard quite a bit over the past few weeks and especially this past weekend about this administration and their decision to do away with title 42, and I would take this opportunity to remind my Democratic colleagues that President Biden himself admitted that our southern border will be, and I quote him, ``chaotic for a while'' post-title 42. So the expectation is that this will create chaos, and they know it, but they are doing it anyway.
In the days right before title 42 was terminated, we were already seeing unprecedented chaos along our southern border. Again, they knew it. Chaos was coming, but they were going to do it anyway because it serves their purposes.
Now, here is some of the chaos that has actually happened at that border. These are last week's numbers. They are not my numbers. They are not Republican numbers. They are Border Patrol's numbers. This is what this administration is doing to the communities that are along that southern border.
Border Patrol reported last week 68,000 apprehensions, and they seized hundreds of pounds of narcotics, including 56 pounds of fentanyl. Bear in mind, 1 little gram, one little touch is enough to kill. We are all hearing ``One pill will kill.'' Yet think about 56 pounds of that coming in. What would that do to your community?
At the same time, on top of the 68,000 who were apprehended, there were 16,000 ``got-aways'' whom they could see on surveillance video, but they could not get to them. Those are the known ``got-aways.'' So they cross the border, and they go running into the country.
There are also the unknown ``got-aways.'' As the Presiding Officer knows, as Border Patrol is out, as they are going through their day, many times they find evidence of the people who have crossed where they couldn't see them on video. They weren't wanting to be apprehended. Those are the really bad, bad, bad guys who are bringing in more drugs, more terrorists, more gangs into this country.
In the past 72 hours alone, we have seen three agents assaulted. These are our Border Patrol agents. They are being assaulted. Bear in mind, the cartels--global organizations--the cartels are in charge of that border on the Mexico side. So three of our agents have been assaulted. There were almost 15,000 more apprehensions in 72 hours and more than 4,300 ``got-aways'' who evaded capture.
As I said, these are not my numbers. They are not Republican numbers. These are the numbers of the Border Patrol. They are the Biden administration's numbers. They know that they are creating chaos, that they are making life difficult, that they are making the job of Border Patrol harder every single day, but it serves their purpose, so they do it anyway.
They know exactly what is happening and what will happen if they don't regain control of that border: more chaos. The chaos is going to escalate because the drug cartels were exploiting the end of title 42 well before last week.
I have on my poster this weekend review, with the apprehensions we have talked about: $83,000 that was seized from the cartels, 224 pounds of marijuana, 179 pounds of meth, 56 pounds of fentanyl, 34 pounds of cocaine, 5 pounds of heroin.
You know, I had a sheriff tell me that they used to apprehend drugs in grams, and now it is all pounds. Why is it pounds? It is because the cartels are so emboldened.
Oh, here we go. We have some more: seven firearms, five sex offenders. These are people who were convicted of crimes in their countries, and they are trying to come in here. A lot of these countries are emptying their jails and trying to unload them on us.
Well, four gang members coming to a neighborhood near you. Why is it that crime is running rampant? Well, we know.
Now, this is all from last week: two felons, one subject with five warrants. That is what they are dealing with.
From October of last year to March of this year, agents apprehended more than 1 million illegal immigrants. Title 42 was still in place then. Last week, tens of thousands of people were camped on the Mexico side of the border, and nearly 80,000 more were gathered in Guatemala with plans to come into the United States. They are making their way here.
The cartels have a plan. The Biden administration and the Democrats have zero of a plan. So we need Congress to step in and make certain we get this border secured.
On his second day in office, President Biden terminated the successful Trump-era migrant protection protocols. That is known as ``Remain in Mexico.'' The policy required illegal immigrants seeking asylum at the southern border or without proper ID to return to Mexico to await their hearing. It worked. Guess what. It worked. Now, instead of keeping it in place, the Biden administration and the Democrats have decided to go back to the old, failed catch-and-release policy. Come on in. We will give you a court date. Court dates now are about 2030, but come on, we will let you in. They will be caught, and then they are released into the country.
Bringing back ``Remain in Mexico'' is essential to maintaining our Nation's security and sovereignty, especially now that the Biden administration has completely undermined Border Patrol by stripping them of their title 42 authority. So this month, I introduced the Make the Migrant Protection Protocols Mandatory Act. The bill is simple. It mandates that individuals seeking asylum at the southern border or without proper ID must return to Mexico while they await their immigration proceedings. We should pass this as soon as possible. That is step one.
Step two is to strike at the heart of the cartels' $13 billion criminal enterprise.
Since President Biden took office, human trafficking has become even more pervasive at the southern border. The State Department estimates that the cartels move as many as 17,500 people across the border every year. One in three is a child. We also know that the cartels overwhelmingly target young girls and sell them into sex slavery. With the end of title 42, these criminal abusers will feel particularly emboldened to expand their business.
I want you to think about those numbers. Human trafficking has become a $13 billion business. Go back to 2019; it was a $500 million-a-year business. Ask yourself, what has changed in that time? It is an administration with very lax or no border policy. Their policy is open it up so that we, the taxpayers, finish the cartels' job. And it is a humanitarian crisis because women and girls--90 percent of whom make this journey--are being sexually assaulted. So I would ask my colleagues, are you OK with that? Are you OK with the cartels making this money? Are you OK with them moving these individuals and selling these women and girls into sex slavery?
The SAVE Girls Act, which I introduced this year--Senator Klobuchar has joined me on this--it establishes a $50 million grant program to put critical resources into the hands of State and local officials and nonprofits so they can fight the smuggling and trafficking of girls across the border and into the communities.
This persistent abuse of young women will only worsen with title 42 gone. There is no reason why this body should not immediately pass this bill and help to protect these women and children who are making this journey.
As we speak, cartels are exploiting Congress's inaction. The President is asleep at the wheel. His border czar is missing in action. His Cabinet officials are busy evading requests for information about what precisely they have been doing with taxpayer time and money over the last few years.
We won't be able to fix this overnight, but we have to start somewhere. We need to make ``Remain in Mexico'' the law of the land and pass the SAVE Girls Act and give law enforcement the tools they need to secure the border before we lose complete and total control of it.
(Ms. HIRONO assumed the Chair.)
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source