Republicans Work On Border Policy Solutions While Democrats Pitch Blue-State Bailouts
‘For three years - policy choice by policy choice - the Biden Administration has welcomed this historic flood of illegal migration… And set the brave men and women of Customs and Border Protection up for failure.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the southern border crisis:
“At a hearing last week, the Secretary of Homeland Security told our colleagues that, quote, ‘ensuring the safety of the American people is a national imperative and a government obligation.’
“Secretary Mayorkas is absolutely right about that. But for someone who understands so clearly the duty of his office, the Biden Administration’s border czar is utterly failing to execute it.
“After three straight years of record-shattering overall border apprehensions, the alarming details of the national security crisis unfolding at the southern border on this Administration’s watch are coming into clearer focus.
“Last fiscal year didn’t just set a new all-time record for border apprehensions of individuals on the terror watch list. It saw arrivals from countries beyond Latin America triple.
“CBP personnel are now facing a human wave at the border that – according to Mexican officials – hails from 120 different countries and speaks 60 different languages.
“For three years – policy choice by policy choice – the Biden Administration has welcomed this historic flood of illegal immigration… And set the brave men and women of Customs and Border Protection up for failure.
“And it’s abundantly clear that the solution to the Administration’s border crisis is by replacing bad policies with sensible ones. Even Secretary Mayorkas admitted last week that, ‘policy changes are needed.’
“But in reality, the supplemental request he’s selling on behalf of the President is much less focused on fixing policy than on throwing money at the problem.
“Instead of shutting off the broken asylum incentives that are driving record arrivals, the Administration wants to pay for faster asylum claim processing, a shower of grant funding for overwhelmed liberal cities that once proudly declared themselves ‘sanctuary cities’, and as Secretary Mayorkas put it, accelerated ‘work authorization for eligible non-citizens.’
“Well the Biden Administration’s border crisis has created a fork in the road.
“In the face of record illegal migration, Democrats are focused on getting more people into our country faster, no matter the cost.
“Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are focused on securing the border and putting the American people back at the forefront of our border policy. I’m grateful to a group of our colleagues – led by Senator Lankford, Senator Graham, Senator Thune, and Senator Cotton – who are working hard on proposals to do exactly that.”
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Related Issues: Immigration, Border Security
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