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Floor Speech

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Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, 302,000--302,000--that is how many migrants U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reported to have encountered at our southern border in the month of December. One month--302,000.

To put that number in perspective, 302,000 is equivalent to roughly a third of the population of my home State of South Dakota or almost half of the population of Vermont or more than half--more than half, I should say, of the population of Wyoming. And that is just 1 month of encounters--1 month. Just when you think the Biden border crisis can't get any worse, it gets worse.

The situation at our southern border is unsustainable. We have got three successive recordbreaking years of illegal immigration at the southern border under President Biden, and if the current trend continues, we are well on our way to a fourth.

The Border Patrol is stretched thin. Border towns are stretched thin. Other major U.S. cities are struggling to deal with an influx of migrants.

Take New York City, for example. New York City is currently facing cuts to city services, including a massive 13.5 percent cut to its police force as a result of the migrant crisis. And while practical challenges posed by this immigration crisis are massive, even more worrisome are the national security challenges. Our country cannot be secure while we have hundreds of thousands of migrants flowing across our southern border each month, frequently to end up released into the United States with court dates years in the future.

Even more concerning are those who are making their way into our country without being apprehended. Since October 1 alone, there have been more than 83,000 known ``got-aways'' at our southern border. Those are individuals that the Border Patrol saw but was unable to apprehend. That is 83,000 individuals making their way into our country without our having the slightest idea of who they are, what they are doing here, or where in the United States they are planning to travel-- 83,000. And while some of them may simply be in search of a better life, others may be dangerous individuals who should not be entering our country.

Let's be very clear. There are dangerous individuals who are trying to make their way into our country. Between October and November alone, the Border Patrol arrested 30 individuals on the Terrorist Watchlist attempting to make their way across our southern border. Fiscal year 2023 saw 169 individuals on the Terrorist Watchlist arrested at our southern border--169--a substantial increase, I might add, over fiscal year 2022, which itself was a substantial increase over fiscal year 2021. That is not a good trajectory.

Again, I point out, these numbers only refer to the individuals the Border Patrol actually apprehend. There were 670,000 known ``got- aways'' during fiscal year 2023. How many of them--how many of them were terrorists, criminals, or other dangerous individuals? The fact of the matter is: We don't know. And that is disturbing.

This is insanity--the 169 they caught on the Terrorist Watchlist trying to come across our southern border and the 670,000 last year who came across the southern border who got away. We have no idea the composition of those people or how many of them. I suspect that most people who are trying to get in here who are terrorists or who are involved in some other type of criminal enterprise probably figure out a way to get in here and not get caught. There may be quite a few of those on the ``got-away'' list.

What we know, however, is that we must regain operational control of the southern border, and it has to happen now. Since President Biden has failed to do so and since his policies have encouraged illegal immigration, Congress is going to have to act. We must act.

I am pleased the Democrats have finally come to the table in a real way to discuss needed reforms, but I want to say again that the only acceptable reforms are reforms that will actually meet the challenge at our southern border. Republicans will not sign off on cosmetic measures or superficial tweaks or simply just throwing more money at the problem. We owe the American people a secure border, and we will not agree to anything less than real reforms.

I have said this before--I have said it many times--that we are a nation of immigrants. I am one generation removed; my grandfather came here as an immigrant. Yet we are a nation of laws first and foremost. It is fundamental. It is the foundation. It is the bedrock principle that distinguishes our country from so many other countries around the world. We have laws, and they have to be followed. When people come to this country--and we are a welcoming country--they need to follow the law.

So fixing the problem means not just having additional funding for border security measures and enforcement personnel but a meaningful reform of our asylum and parole systems, which have been abused under the Biden administration.

A recent CBS News article noted:

Over the past few years . . . the U.S. asylum system has become a proxy process for migrants to stay and work in America, irrespective of whether they have valid claims or not.

That is not acceptable. Our asylum system is meant to be a refuge for those who face genuine danger from persecution. It is not meant to serve as temporary de facto amnesty for those who would simply prefer to live in the United States.

Our parole system is being abused as well. The Biden Department of Homeland Security's overly permissive application of parole has allowed hundreds of thousands of individuals who have not been granted legal status and who may not have a case for remaining in the United States to take up residence in our country, once again providing de facto amnesty, even if temporary.

The Biden administration's abuse of our asylum and parole systems has to be reined in if we hope to stem the tide of individuals flooding into the country, so any acceptable border security reform must include the reform of these systems.

While it may have taken them a long time to get here, I am, as I said, encouraged that at least Democrats have finally come to the table, and I hope for the sake of our country that sooner rather than later we will arrive at an agreement. We have had 3 years of the Biden border crisis. Let's make sure we don't have a fourth.

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