March 13, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 45 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
All in Senate sectionPrev19 of 64Next
Border Security (Executive Session); Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 45
(Senate - March 13, 2019)
Text available as:
Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Pages S1813-S1815] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] Border Security Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, the news cycle is relentless here in Washington, DC, and between cable TV and social media, it is pretty hard to remember what happened an hour or a day or a week ago, but it is important to talk about the context surrounding today's circumstances, and that is why I wanted to come talk a little bit more about what is happening on our southern border. Twelve hundred miles of Texas is common border with Mexico, and we are at ground zero when it comes to what comes across the border and what happens at the border. Frankly, it is a lot more complicated than most people seem to appreciate, at least by the way they talk about it. Not only is the border a source of economic energy for our country, by trade and legitimate travel, we know our border communities themselves are among the safest in the country. Their crime statistics are basically equivalent to that of any other comparable city in any other part of the country, but what happens across the border is a very different story. Some of the most dangerous cities in Mexico are right there along the border, primarily because they are still controlled by the cartels that operate what are called plazas where they essentially take tolls or shake down people who are trying to come across for whatever purpose it might be, whether it is people coming across to find a job in the United States or drug traffickers or human traffickers--people selling women and children for sex or human servitude. So it is a complicated scenario, to be sure, but one thing I can tell you is, there is a humanitarian crisis at the border that was not manufactured by the Trump administration. In fact, the denial in which a lot of our Democratic colleagues find themselves I think is more related to the fact that President Trump is the one currently identifying it rather than the facts on the ground because, in 2014, President Obama called what was happening at the border a humanitarian crisis, and that did not seem to be a controversial comment at the time, but now that President Trump is calling this a crisis and emergency, people, unfortunately, can't take off their partisan jersey, and many call it a fake emergency or fake crisis, which is demonstrably false. Let's go back to 2014. That year, about 68,000 families were apprehended at the southern border, an overwhelming number. This, coupled with an unprecedented surge of unaccompanied children, led President Obama, as I mentioned, to call this a ``growing humanitarian and security crisis.'' That was President Obama. He was right, especially about the growing part. Let me just pause for a moment to talk about why are we seeing children and families coming across the border as opposed to adult men. We detained about 400,000 people coming across the border last year, but we are seeing more and more unaccompanied children and family units coming across the border. The simple fact is, the criminal organizations that exploit this vulnerability at our border have figured out what our laws provide for and where the gaps are, and they realize, if an unaccompanied child or a family unit comes across the border, current law requires us to separate the adult from the child-- because we don't want to put a child in a jail or detention facility-- and place them, through Health and Human Services, with a sponsor, ultimately, in the United States. Once they get a sponsor in the United States, then it may be years, if ever, before their asylum claim is actually heard in front of an immigration judge. The fact is, in the vast majority of circumstances, that asylum claim will be granted--or I should say mooted by the fact that people don't show up months and years later for their hearing in front of the immigration judge but simply melt into the great American landscape. In this case, the cartels win, and American border security loses because our Democratic colleagues simply refuse to work with us to make commonsense fixes to this broken asylum system which allows the cartels and children and family units to essentially exploit the vulnerabilities in our laws and successfully make their way into the country. That is what they call a pull factor. There are push factors because of the violence occurring in countries in Central America, but the pull factor is the fact that if you try to come to the United States as an unaccompanied [[Page S1814]] child or a family unit, you will likely succeed. So it should be no surprise to any of us that these numbers continue to grow. Back when President Obama talked about this being a growing humanitarian and security crisis, there were 68,000 family units apprehended at the border. In the last 5 months alone this year, there have been more than 136,000 family units apprehended along the southern border. Historically, we witness the highest numbers of apprehensions in the spring and summer months, so I anticipate things will not get better-- they will only get worse--in the months ahead. My State and our border communities are certainly feeling the brunt of these growing numbers. We also know, as the Border Patrol has told us, that the cartels that move illegal drugs into the United States frequently try to flood the border with migrants, these family units, in order to distract law enforcement personnel from the heroin or the methamphetamine or the synthetic opioids, mainly fentanyl, that come across our border and poison so many Americans. We know that last year alone, more than 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses. A substantial amount of that was opioids, including the synthetic fentanyl. Frequently, the precursors come from China through Mexico and into the United States, and 90 percent of the heroin used in the United States comes from Mexico. This is a serious matter, and we should not turn a blind eye to it. Compared to this time last year, family unit apprehensions have grown 200 percent in the Rio Grande Valley Sector. That is McAllen, TX, and that area. They are up more than 490 percent in the Del Rio Sector, and, most staggering, in the El Paso Sector, family unit apprehensions have increased more than 1,600 percent. For those who believe this is somehow a fake emergency or not really a crisis, I would ask them: If those numbers were doubled or tripled, would they believe there is a crisis or an emergency? I believe there is now, and I believe those who deny that a crisis exists are simply turning a blind eye to it for, unfortunately, mainly partisan purposes. Despite what many on the left claim, there is indeed a humanitarian crisis on the border. In addition to the waves of Central Americans arriving by the thousands, we are also trying to stop the flow of illegal narcotics, as I said, and combat the disgusting practice of human smuggling. Last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan, who leads the more than 60,000 professionals working to provide security and a safe place for trade to come across our ports of entry. Many of these employees of Customs and Border Protection call Texas home and work alongside of State and local law enforcement to protect us and our neighbors from the dangerous goods and, yes, persons trying to cross the border illegally. Of course, the C in CBP stands for Customs, and they are also charged with promoting the safe and efficient movement of legitimate trade and travel. In Texas, given our proximity to the border, given our location, that is a big task. Our State is the No. 1 exporter in the country, with exports last year totaling more than $315 billion. That is exporting things that we grow, livestock that we raise, and manufactured goods that we make. We sell those to Mexico, our biggest customer far and away. Folks who live and work along the southern border are proud of the strong bonds our country has with our southern neighbor and the dynamic culture in the region. Many have family on both sides of the border, which makes it an extraordinarily unique place in our country. Thanks to the dedicated Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials, flourishing businesses, and a vibrant community, the border region is thriving. I was on the telephone with one of my constituents from McAllen, TX, yesterday. He said: Our cities on the border are safe. You would think, from what you hear from the national discussion and debates in Washington, that people have to wear body armor in McAllen, TX. I said: Well, part of the problem is that people are confusing the dangerous flow of goods and people across the border with actual violence occurring on the border. Just to reiterate, our border communities on the U.S. side are some of the safest in the country. On the other side, for example, Juarez, which is on the other side of the border from El Paso, has historically been one of the most dangerous places on the planet, as well as Tamaulipas, which is the Mexican State right opposite of McAllen-- again, a hot bed of cartel activity and violence. But U.S. cities, I would say, are relatively safe, just like any other comparable city in the United States. So people perhaps not knowing better or, maybe, perhaps just trying to make a better story out of the facts, and I think conflate these ideas. But there is no doubt that the drugs, the human trafficking, and the masses of humanity coming across our border are creating a crisis at the border of a humanitarian and security nature. Of course, between the ports of entry--and the ports of entry are where the legitimate trade and travel come across our international bridges--there are vast swaths of land that are relatively unpatrolled. The closest Border Patrol agent could be miles away--something human smugglers know and they exploit. These aren't good Samaritans leading immigrants to a better life. They are criminals who put profit before people and have zero regard for human life. According to a 2017 study by Doctors Without Borders, 68 percent of the migrants reported being victims of violence during transit from Mexico or through Mexico, and 31 percent of the women surveyed had been sexually abused during the journey. These are the migrants who turn themselves over to the tender mercies of these criminal organizations. Sixty-eight percent have been victims of violence, and 31 percent of the women have been sexually assaulted. The journey these families face on their way to the United States is a harrowing one, and some of them don't make it. We have to continue working to stop anyone even considering this journey from attempting it. I still remember going to Falfurrias, TX, which is away from the border but is a Border Patrol checkpoint. What happens is that the coyotes will bring people across the border, put them in stash houses in sickening and inhumane conditions, and, then, when the time is right, put them in a vehicle and transit them up our highway system. The Falfurrias checkpoint in Brooks County is one of the ones that checks people coming through on their way into the mainland. But what happens is that the smugglers will tell the migrants: Get out of the car before the checkpoint. Here is a milk carton or jug full of water. Maybe they give them some candy bars or the like, and say: We will see you on the other side. So many of the migrants--particularly in the hottest part of the summer in Texas--unfortunately, die making that trip. I have been to Brooks County and have seen some of the unidentified bones and remains of migrants who died trying to make that trip. Of course, you can imagine coming from Central America in the first place. By the time they even get to Falfurrias and Brooks County and the checkpoint, many of them are already suffering from exposure, including dehydration. As you can imagine, during the time I have been in the Senate, I have spent a significant amount of time along the border meeting with CBP personnel, law enforcement officials, small businesses, landowners, community leaders, and other citizens about the challenges they and we are facing and what it is we might be able to do here in Washington to help. What I have heard repeatedly is that we need a three-pronged approach. I know we are primarily focused on or obsessed with physical barriers, and that is certainly a piece of it, but that is only one of the three elements that we need to deal with border security. We need barriers in hard-to-control areas. We need personnel. We need the Border Patrol. And, yes, we need technology. Technology can be a force multiplier, we all know, to help the Border Patrol identify drug smugglers or human traffickers or coyotes bringing human or economic migrants across. What works best in one sector isn't [[Page S1815]] what is necessarily best for another. So this idea that we would build a physical barrier across the entire State is just nonsense. That is not what the President has proposed. I remember that former Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, later the Chief of Staff, said: We are not proposing to build a wall ``from sea to shining sea''--because he knew what we know, and that is that what works best in one sector doesn't work well in another. So we need to keep both the funding and the flexibility to provide the most needed resources that will work best. That is not something we should be trying to dictate or micromanage from thousands of miles away. As I mentioned, the humanitarian crisis has evolved significantly since 2014, and I have no doubt that it will continue to evolve in the coming years. We need to continue the conversation with experts on the ground and stakeholders on the ground and make sure that we can adapt as the threat evolves. Based on feedback from my constituents in Texas, the funding bill we passed last month included five specific areas, including the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge and the National Butterfly Center, where barriers cannot be constructed. It also included language stating that DHS must consult with local elected officials in certain counties and towns. I happen to believe that kind of consultation can be very positive and can lead to a win-win situation. I will mention just one location in Hidalgo County, TX. They are right there on the river, and they had to improve the levees because they were worried about the rains leading to floods and the destruction that would follow. In order to deal with improvement of the levee system, they actually worked with the Border Patrol to come up with what they called a levee wall, which helped the Border Patrol control the flow of migrants to places where they could be accessed most easily, but it also provided the improvement in the levee system that helped the Rio Grande Valley, and, particularly, Hidalgo County to develop those counties without prohibitively high or even nonexistent insurance coverage. So that is an example of how, by consulting with local stakeholders, we can come up with win-win scenarios. The border region's future is bright, thanks to the dedicated law enforcement professionals, elected officials, and business community leaders who keep it safe and prosperous, but we simply can't turn a blind eye and ignore the high level of illegal migration and substances moving across our border. We can't turn a blind eye to the migrants being left for dead in the ranchlands by human smugglers. We can't ignore the humanitarian crisis that continues to grow at an exponential rate. The President's emergency declaration was his commitment to finally address the problems that overwhelmed our communities along the southern border--both in 2014, when President Obama identified it, and today. It is our duty to deliver real results--not only for the people of Texas but for our friends to the south. I have heard the concerns raised by my constituents and colleagues about the use of emergency powers in this situation, and I share some of those concerns. I still believe that the regular appropriations process should always be used, but, unfortunately, we saw a refusal on the part of the Speaker of the House and others to engage in bona fide negotiations on border security funding, and that left the administration with what it deemed to be an inadequate source of revenue to do the border security measures they felt they needed in order to address the humanitarian crisis. Rather than engaging with the President and debating whether the President has the authority to declare a national emergency for border security--which he clearly does--I think our discussions should focus on the structure of emergency powers laws moving forward and whether Congress has delegated too much power, not just to this President but to any President under these circumstances. I think Brandeis University did a survey of all of the congressional grants of emergency powers that Congress has made over the last years and has identified 123 separate statutes which, if the President declares a national emergency, will allow the President to reprogram money that has been appropriated by Congress for various purposes. I think that is a serious overdelegation of authority by Congress to the executive branch, which is why I intend to cosponsor a bill introduced by our colleague, Senator Lee from Utah, to give Congress a stronger voice in the processes under the National Emergencies Act. I am going to continue to come to the floor to argue with my colleagues about what we need in that unique part of our country, which is the border region, not only to have a prosperous region in America but also to have a safer America. It is not as simple, frankly, as some people would have it be, and it should not be the subject of partisanship and game-playing, like we have seen the debate over border security under the President's request become. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire. Ms. HASSAN. Thank you, Mr. President. It is good to hear from my colleague from Texas. I am here to talk about two different issues, but I did just want to say that I have had the pleasure and honor of visiting Senator Cornyn's wonderful State. In fact, I was at the border last spring. It is a beautiful State that is full of hard-working and welcoming people. Certainly, our men and women on the frontlines at the border are working incredibly hard and have a lot of excellent ideas about how to secure the border. I do just want to make one point, which is simply that in addressing a humanitarian crisis at the border, we shouldn't create another one by separating families at the border. To be clear, there is nothing in our law that requires families to be separated at the border. We simply should not be harming children as we deal with this issue. I would welcome Senator Cornyn to our Homeland Security Committee, where we have discussed the various options that would keep us from hurting children in our care.
All in Senate sectionPrev19 of 64Next