The Crisis At the Border
Floor Speech
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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I rise to speak about the crisis at the border, what is happening now, and what we can expect if we don't resolve this issue.
I can't help but comment on a few things that my good friend, the gentleman from California, said. And just in case he wasn't paying attention, we are talking about 234 miles of border security fencing or wall or barrier of some sort as enumerated by the Secretary of Homeland Security--not the President; the Secretary of Homeland Security.
So when he says it is unspecified where it will be and what it will be, it is very closely and very particularly specified by the Secretary, not by the President, and it is the 10 worst sites along the border where there is no barrier now.
Let's get on with the other business of the afternoon.
Madam Speaker, I am here this afternoon with nearly a dozen of my colleagues in the House Freedom Caucus who will lay out the case, with specifics, for the President's policies on border security, which are aimed at keeping America safe and enforcing our laws. These are for America's policies.
The government has been shut down for the longest period in modern history. It is shut down over the topic of border security and whether to fund the construction of a border wall on points along our southern border.
Right now, our immigration is our single greatest policy failure, a failure that is a manufactured one. It was created from political cowardice, short-termism, and self-interest, but it is a moral, legal, and human catastrophe of epic proportions.
The President is fighting to fix it, and the Freedom Caucus is fighting to fix it right alongside him. Squarely in our way is a party gripped by denial, their political equivalent of hear no evil and see no evil.
We learned as children that putting your head in the sand doesn't change the reality of the situation, the facts are facts. They don't have a political position. It is not about how we feel or what we wish the facts are. They are what they are.
Let me quote a recent Vox article, a publication, mind you, that is no friend to conservatives or the Trump Administration:
Hundreds, or even thousands, of migrant families are set to be released from government detention along the U.S.-Mexico border over the next several days. But while the mass release of families may cheer critics of the Trump administration's treatment of immigrant families, the government's new plan will probably lead to hundreds of families getting dropped off en masse at bus stations--literally out in the cold.
Now the U.S. Border Patrol is so jammed that it had to release these illegal aliens at a Greyhound station on Christmas Eve. And that is not the Border Patrol's fault; it is an activist judge in California who said that Customs and Border Protection must release these individuals. But there is nowhere for these families to go. Charities at the border are full. Detention facilities at the border are full.
Some more quotes from the same article:
But over the summer and fall of 2018, it has become clear that there really is a crisis at the border--because more families are coming to more places than U.S. officials have ever been capable of dealing with.
During the peak of unauthorized migration into the U.S. circa 2000, the overwhelming majority of migrants were single men; only 10 percent of Border Patrol apprehensions were families or unaccompanied children.
In November 2018, 57 percent were families or children. More families crossed the U.S.-Mexico border without documentation in November of 2018 than in many months since Department of Homeland Security started tracking family apprehension separately. More children and families crossed in November 2018 than crossed during the peak of the ``border crisis'' in June of 2014.
This is Vox, mind you. This is analysis from a liberal publication. Let me repeat the line.
But over the summer and fall of 2018, it has become clear that there really is a crisis at the border.
Again, this is from Vox.
Now, let me quote the Washington Post, as you know, another great fan of our President. This is an article from January 5:
In recent weeks, so many parents with children have been among the 2,000 unauthorized migrants who are being taken into Federal custody each day that authorities have resorted to mass releases of families onto the streets of El Paso and other border cities. U.S. agents are bringing dozens of migrants, coughing and feverish, each day to clinics and hospitals after stays in jam-packed holding cells where children sleep on concrete floors and huddle in plastic sheets for warmth.
If this isn't a crisis, can someone tell me what is?
To all reporters hyperventilating in TV studios who fact-check the Freedom Caucus and the President, I am sure it is not a crisis; but to these print reporters at Vox and The Washington Post who did their jobs and reported the news, this is a crisis.
The agency tasked with basic Federal responsibility in this situation, Customs and Border Protection, lacks the resources to do its job humanely and effectively. They lack the legal resources. They lack the financial resources.
This is the current status quo. This is why we are here. This is why nothing is happening in Washington, D.C., about ending this shutdown, because some folks on the other side of the aisle, in both this body and the one across the Capitol, refuse to deal with the lack of resources.
I ask my Democratic colleagues: Is this what you support, this status quo? Do you support leaving illegal foreign nationals, human beings, on the streets of the United States at bus stations and by the side of the road?
Do you support incentivizing them to journey through one of the highest intensity drug trafficking zones in the world, where all manner of horrific things occur? Do you believe this is moral? I don't. Neither does the President, who requested another $5 billion for detention beds so we can protect our borders and the illegal aliens who violate them. It is in writing in this letter from Director Vought at OMB, which I will include in the Record. Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget, Washington, DC, January 6, 2019. Hon. Richard Shelby, Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The President continues to stress the need to pass legislation that will both reopen the Federal Government and address the security and humanitarian crisis at our Nation's Southwest border. The Administration has previously transmitted budget proposals that would support his ongoing commitment to dramatically reduce the entry of illegal immigrants, criminals, and drugs; keep out terrorists, public safety threats, and those otherwise inadmissible under U.S. law; and ensure that those who do enter without legal permission can be promptly and safely returned home.
Appropriations bills for fiscal year (FY) 2019 that have already been considered by the current and previous Congresses are inadequate to fully address these critical issues. Any agreement for the current year should satisfy the following priorities:
Border Wall, Customs and Border Protection (CBP): The President requests $5.7 billion for construction of a steel barrier for the Southwest border. Central to any strategy to achieve operational control along the southern border is physical infrastructure to provide requisite impedance and denial. In short, a physical barrier--wall--creates an enduring capability that helps field personnel stop, slow down and/or contain illegal entries. In concert with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, CBP has increased its capacity to execute these funds. The Administration's full request would fund construction of a total of approximately 234 miles of new physical barrier and fully fund the top 10 priorities in CBP's Border Security Improvement Plan. This would require an increase of $4.1 billion over the FY 2019 funding level in the Senate version of the bill.
Immigration Judge Teams--Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR): The President requests at least $563 million for 75 additional Immigration Judges and support staff to reduce the backlog of pending immigration cases. The Administration appreciates that the Senate's FY 2019 bill provides this level of funding, and looks forward to working with the Congress on further increases in this area to facilitate an expansion of in-country processing of asylum claims.
Law Enforcement Personnel, Border Patrol Agent Hiring, CBP: The President requests $211 million to hire 750 additional Border Patrol Agents in support of his promise to keep our borders safe and secure. While the Senate's FY 2019 bill supports some Border Patrol Agent hiring, fulfilling this request requires an increase of $100 million over the FY 2019 funding level in the Senate version of the bill.
Law Enforcement Personnel, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): The President requests $571 million for 2,000 additional law enforcement personnel, as well as support staff, who enforce our U.S. immigration laws and help address gang violence, smuggling and trafficking, and the spread of drugs in our communities. This would require an increase of $571 million over the FY 2019 funding level in the Senate version of the bill.
Detention Beds, ICE: The President requests $4.2 billion to support 52,000 detention beds. Given that in recent months, the number of people attempting to cross the border illegally has risen to 2,000 per day, providing additional resources for detention and transportation is essential. This would require an increase of $798 million over the FY 2019 funding level in the Senate version of the bill.
Humanitarian Needs: The President requests an additional $800 million to address urgent humanitarian needs. This includes additional funding for enhanced medical support, transportation, consumable supplies appropriate for the population, and additional temporary facilities for processing and short-term custody of this vulnerable population, which are necessary to ensure the well-being of those taken into custody.
Counter-narcotics/weapons Technology: Beyond these specific budgetary requests, the Administration looks forward to working with Congress to provide resources in other areas to address the unprecedented challenges we face along the Southwest border. Specifically, $675 million would provide Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) technology at inbound lanes at U.S. Southwest Border Land Ports of Entry (LPOE) would allow CBP to deter and detect more contraband, including narcotics, weapons, and other materials that pose nuclear and radiological threats. This would require an increase of $631 million over the FY 2019 funding level in the Senate version of the bill.
In addition, to address the humanitarian crisis of unaccompanied alien children (UACs), Democrats have proposed in-country asylum processing for Central American Minors. This would require a statutory change, along with reallocation of State Department funds to establish in- country processing capacities at Northern Triangle consulates and embassies. Furthermore, for the new procedure to achieve the desired humanitarian result, a further corresponding statutory change would be required to ensure that those who circumvent the process and come to the United States without authorization can be promptly returned home. Without the latter change, in-country processing will not reduce the unauthorized flow or successfully mitigate the humanitarian crisis.''
These upfront investments in physical barriers and technology, as well as legislation to close loopholes in our immigration system, will reduce illegal immigration, the flow of illicit drugs entering our country and reduce the long term costs for border and immigration enforcement activities.
The Administration looks forward to advancing these critical priorities as part of legislation to reopen the Government. Sincerely, Russell T. Vought, Acting Director.
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Mr. PERRY. The President has asked for $800 million for things like medical care for these migrants, for transportation, for meals, and for short-term custody facilities to deal with the inflow of illegal aliens our laws have caused.
He has asked for 57 new immigration judge teams to process these people, hear claims with merit, and deal with claims that do not.
And, yes, he asked for the wall to cover the 10 worst sites, as described by the Department of Homeland Security, to prevent entrants from pouring across the border, especially in the dead of winter and the extreme heat of summer.
These are rational measures, and they are humanitarian measures.
The cheap and disingenuous moralism of the Democrats in Congress has brought us to this point. They have opposed every one of these proposals to improve this system, not only in this Congress, but in every Congress before. This is the same posturing that is worsening this crisis, and I will say it again: This is a crisis.
Now, our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have a clear choice to make. They can bow to the demands of their radical base that believes there is no difference or distinction between citizen and noncitizen, or they can come to the table to work with the President, which is our job; to protect the vulnerable, including the 30 percent of women who are sexually assaulted on the trek to the U.S.-Mexican border, the children who are preyed upon by human trafficking rings, and the innocent who are trying to make a better life for themselves but live in fear of the drug cartels and many others; to protect our borders; and to protect American citizens.
They can provide Immigration and Customs Enforcement the tools, legal and financial, to do its job.
What is not up for debate is whether the children shivering on the floor because we can't house them is a crisis. That is the bottom line here.
Even worse, American families are losing loved ones at the hands of illegal foreign nationals under preventable circumstances--preventable, completely preventable.
Earlier today, we heard from Angel Moms, a sister and a brother, American citizens who lost loved ones because we aren't enforcing our immigration laws. This is completely and wholly unacceptable.
We are a compassionate nation and a nation of laws, but the same laws apply to all of us. It is not this law for some and this law for others. We cannot allow ideology to prevent us from addressing the crisis. The situation is too dire for these people at risk, and the situation for America is critical.
Tonight, the House Freedom Caucus stands with the President, and I am proud to stand with my colleagues to make the case to the American people.
Madam Speaker, we will next hear from Mr. Chip Roy on the effectiveness of walls, and then we will hear from Mr. Brooks from Alabama on the danger of these uncontrolled border policies to Americans, followed by Mr. Biggs from Arizona on what it is like to live in an unsecured border because he lives in Arizona.
We will hear from Mr. Hice on opioids and the way our porous borders contribute to that crisis that is affecting every single town in the country.
We will hear from Mr. Griffith. We will also hear from Mr. Yoho; Mr. Meadows, our great chairman, the gentleman from North Carolina; as well as Mr. Cloud from Texas.
This evening, we are going to get beyond the talking points and specifically lay out our case.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).
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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Brooks).
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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Alabama and yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Hice).
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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman. I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan).
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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Griffith).
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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho).
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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida, and I now yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cloud).
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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for being part of this discussion
Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining.
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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).
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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) for sharing his thoughts on this topic.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Davidson).
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Mr. PERRY. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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