[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 779 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 779
Strongly condemning the Biden administration and its ``border czar'',
Kamala Harris, for failing to secure the United States border.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 30, 2024
Mrs. Blackburn submitted the following resolution; which was referred
to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Strongly condemning the Biden administration and its ``border czar'',
Kamala Harris, for failing to secure the United States border.
Whereas, on March 24, 2021, President Biden asked Vice President Kamala Harris
to lead, as ``border czar'', the Administration's diplomatic efforts to
address the ``root causes'' of illegal immigration into the United
States from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras;
Whereas Vice President Kamala Harris did not even visit the southern border
until June 25, 2021, 93 days after being named ``border czar'';
Whereas when Vice President Kamala Harris traveled near the southern border for
the first time on June 25, 2021, she decided to travel to El Paso,
Texas, which is located 800 miles from the Lower Rio Grande Valley;
Whereas former United States Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz stated that during
his nearly 2 years in that position between August 2021 and June 2023,
he ``never had one conversation with [President Biden] or the [Vice
President Harris], for that matter. I was the Chief of the Border
Patrol, I commanded 21,000 people. That's a problem.'';
Whereas current United States Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens stated that Vice
President Kamala Harris has not spoken with him since he was appointed
in July 2023;
Whereas, since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris became President and Vice President,
respectively there have been--
(1) more than 9,700,000 illegal immigrant encounters nationwide;
(2) more than 7,900,000 illegal immigrant encounters at the United
States southern border; and
(3) an estimated 2,000,000 known gotaways who evaded the United States
Border Patrol, which is more known gotaways than evaded the Border Patrol
during the entire previous decade;
Whereas, in May 2024, there were 170,723 illegal immigrant encounters at the
United States southern border, which represents a 185 percent increase
from the average May encounter total during the administration of
President Trump;
Whereas May 2024 was the 39th straight month where monthly illegal immigrant
encounters have been higher than the highest month under President
Trump;
Whereas illegal immigrants with violent criminal histories who have murdered
innocent Americans, including Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungary, Rachel
Morin, and others throughout the United States, pose an existential
threat to the safety and security of the American people;
Whereas, in June 2024, NBC News reported that more than 50 illegal immigrants
with ties to ISIS were on the loose in the United States after having
been released by officials of the Biden administration;
Whereas, during the Biden administration, more than 350 illegal immigrants with
ties to ISIS and whose names appear on the terrorist watch list were
stopped while trying to cross the southern border;
Whereas, during less than the first 10 months of fiscal year 2024, a record-
breaking 31,077 Communist Chinese nationals have been encountered at the
southwest border;
Whereas the Biden border crisis is costing the United States approximately
$150,700,000,000 each year, which equals an annual cost of $1,156 per
taxpayer;
Whereas, in May 2024, Republican members of the Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs of the Senate released documents showing the
Biden administration secretly flew more than 400,000 illegal immigrants
into the United States;
Whereas the far left open border policies of President Biden, ``border czar''
Harris, and the Democratic Party are to blame for this historic
immigration crisis; and
Whereas, in August 2022, President Biden' administration decided to make the
border crisis significantly worse by formally ending former President
Trump's successful Remain in Mexico program: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) strongly condemns the Biden administration and ``border
czar'' Kamala Harris for failing to secure the United States
border;
(2) affirms that the people of the United States deserve
elected officials who--
(A) understand the gravity of the crisis at the
border; and
(B) will execute policies that will fix the border
crisis; and
(3) clearly and firmly states that the continuation of the
Biden-Harris border policies would be disastrous for the United
States and its citizens.
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