February 11, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 26 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page H1507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                            BORDER SECURITY

  (Mr. YOHO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. YOHO. Mr. Speaker, after the conclusion of the last shutdown, I 
was hopeful that we would work together in good faith to find a 
commonsense approach to secure our border. However, it appears that the 
Democrats are more concerned with releasing illegal aliens than 
addressing border security.
  Recently, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have suggested 
that we reduce the adult detention beds for illegal detainees in 
exchange for border security. This is unacceptable. As we in this body 
are all aware, adult detention beds are an essential aspect of 
enforcing our immigration laws. Reducing the amount of beds would 
further exacerbate our problems with interior enforcement, thus relying 
on an ineffective catch and release policy. Only 4 percent of those 
released ever show up for their court date. That means that they have a 
96 percent chance of staying in this country.
  Our primary role of government is security. Border security is 
national security, and our national security should not be a bargaining 
chip for the Democrats' political games. I urge my colleagues across 
the aisle to take this issue seriously.
  Please stop playing political games with our Nation's security and 
the brave men and women of our Coast Guard, TSA, CBP, and ICE agents. 
We must work together as Americans and fix our broken immigration 
system which starts with a secure border.

                          ____________________