Sovereign Borders Matter At Home And Abroad
‘[A] full two-thirds of the country recognizes the scope of America’s interests and responsibilities as a global superpower. At the same time, vast majorities continue to affirm that national security begins at home.’
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding national security priorities:
“A good way to size up leaders – at home and abroad – is to look at how they treat borders.
“Good leaders recognize sovereignty as the bedrock of national security. As a result, peaceful nations both respect the inviolability of other nations’ borders as well as vigorously defend their own.
“The world is awash in examples of this fundamental reality.
“Vladimir Putin has spent years trampling the sovereignty of his European neighbors. But the people of Ukraine are enduring occupation and torture, and giving their lives to restore their homeland’s lawful borders.
“Iran’s network of proxies violates the sovereignty of Israel and its Arab neighbors with horrific terrorist bloodlust.
“But the people of Israel respond with unwavering resolve to restore security.
“President Xi is pouring unprecedented investments into Chinese military power with the express purpose of shattering a sovereign democracy and undermining regional order. But Taiwan and America’s other Asian partners are steeling themselves to deter aggression.
“The United States has a direct interest in helping our friends maintain their sovereignty – from Europe to the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific. According to a survey published just today by the Reagan Institute, that’s exactly how overwhelming majorities in this country see it.
“By this latest account, 65% of Americans support U.S. assistance to Taiwan. 67% support assistance to Ukraine. And 71% support assistance to Israel.
“In other words, a full two-thirds of the country recognizes the scope of America’s interests and responsibilities as a global superpower.
“At the same time, vast majorities continue to affirm that national security begins at home. Recent polling shows that even a majority of Democrats say they are at least ‘very’ concerned about the state of American border security on President Biden’s watch.
“Over 9,000 illegal aliens arrive at our nation’s southern border every day. And thanks to a profoundly broken system of asylum and parole, they know that the vast majority will be waived on through to settle in the interior.
“The consequences of this crisis touch every corner of our country.
“The overwhelming task facing border patrol personnel is drawing federal law enforcement personnel off of other important missions to help contend with surging arrivals at ports of entry.
“As the senior Senator for Missouri revealed yesterday, some officers charged with protecting federal buildings are being sent instead to ferry illegal aliens to and from the hospital.
“The vast stretches of border in between are seeing massive flows of lethal drugs like fentanyl on their way to poisoning Americans in states across the interior.
“Across the country, even progressive mayors of self-described ‘sanctuary cities’ are at wit’s end contending with the human wave heading north.
“The Biden Administration’s failure to secure our southern border is an embarrassing and dangerous policy failure. Here in the Senate, Democrats are making an embarrassing misjudgment of their own.
“The Democratic Leader would like us to believe that the defense of sovereign borders is an urgent and noble cause when it takes place overseas… but an ‘extraneous’ distraction here at home.
“Some of our colleagues apparently think America can profess to stand for the rule of law without enforcing it on our own soil.
“The Senate has two weeks to pass supplemental legislation to meet urgent national security priorities.
“That means time is running out for our Democratic colleagues to recognize that national security begins here at home.”
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Related Issues: Israel, Border Security, National Security, Russia, China, Ukraine
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