“President Biden has already shown himself to be the most open-borders president in American history. It’s no surprise that the whole world has noticed.”
Click here to watch Sen. Barrasso’s remarks.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) spoke on the Senate floor about how the Biden administration’s policies are squarely to blame for the crisis on our southern border. Barrasso also previewed the trip he plans to make to the border in Texas later this week to inspect the situation firsthand.
Excerpts of Senator Barrasso’s remarks:
“I come to the floor to talk about the crisis that’s affecting our country right now and it’s the crisis at our Southern Border. Later this week I’ll travel to Texas to inspect the situation firsthand.
“My Republican colleagues and I will also say thank you to our law enforcement officers who are on the front lines. Their work is always important—and it’s especially important at this time.
“The president said on Sunday that he hopes to visit the border ‘at some point.’
“With all due respect: the American people don’t have time to wait. I invite the President to join us this Friday. Come with us and see the situation firsthand.
“Here are the facts.
“In the month of February, federal agents apprehended more than 100,000 illegal immigrants crossing our Southern border. That’s more than double the number from last February.
“Bear in mind that February is the shortest month of the year. So in just 28 days, 100,000 illegal immigrants crossed our border.
“Illegal immigration usually goes down in the winter. It rises in the Spring and then peaks in the Summer.
“We have every reason to expect this is only going to get much worse over the months ahead.
“Even the Biden administration admits, we’re on pace this year for the most illegal immigrants in 2 decades.
“So why is this happening? If you ask the migrants, they’ll tell you the answer. His name is Joe Biden.
“There are photographs of large numbers of migrants near Tijuana wearing shirts that say ‘BIDEN, PLEASE LET US IN.’ They even use the Biden campaign logo.
“When did the surge in illegal immigration start? Just after President Biden took office on January 20.
“Before the month was over, President Biden had already issued more than seven Executive Actions on immigration alone.
“As I detailed on the floor two weeks ago, President Biden has unveiled the most left-wing immigration agenda in the history of our nation.
“During the campaign last year, President Biden promised lavish taxpayer benefits for illegal immigrants. So did Vice President Harris.
“When the moderators at the Democratic debates asked who supported free healthcare for illegal immigrants, President Biden raised his hand. Vice President Harris also endorsed free healthcare for illegal immigrants.
“President Biden promised not just amnesty, but American citizenship for illegal immigrants. 26 Democratic Senators have already signed onto the bill that he has proposed.
“President Biden said in February that he’ll even give the coronavirus vaccine to illegal immigrants.
“You can come here illegally and get a free vaccine against the coronavirus. Free health care, No wonder illegal immigrants are rushing our borders.
“We all remember what happened four years ago after President Trump was elected. Before he even issued most of his immigration policies, immigration plummeted.
“It went down 40 percent in the first four months of his Presidency. It was called ‘The Trump Effect.’ It happened even before his policies went into effect.
“It was because he sent a clear message to the world. He said, don’t come here illegally or we will send you right back home. That message was heard around the world.
“Now we’re getting a very different message from the Biden White House. As a result, we have ‘The Biden Effect:’
“A historic increase in illegal immigration. They are promising free health care, free education, free vaccines. They’re offering amnesty, and even citizenship for illegal immigrants.
“Democrats just passed a bill that lets illegal immigrants get $1,400 checks. Senator Cotton and I tried to stop it.
“Every Democrat in the United States Senate voted against our amendment. They voted to give hard-earned taxpayer dollars to people who aren’t even supposed to be in this country.
“The White House says publicly that we will not expel any illegal immigrant under the age of 18. The White House Press Secretary even mocked that idea.
“As a result, massive numbers of teens and children are crossing the border.
“Secretary Mayorkas has told the whole world that if you’re under 18, you get a free pass.
“He went on television last week and said: ‘we will not expel your child…We will care for that child and unite that child with a responsible parent.’
“In that same interview, he said, ‘I hope [children] will not undertake that perilous journey’ to our Border.
“As long as liberal policies are in place, it’s a guarantee. They will undertake that perilous journey.
“They will risk the smugglers, cartels, and human traffickers to get here.
“So now the system is overwhelmed. Our border agents can’t keep up.
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement just spent $86 million to rent hotel rooms for families who illegally crossed the border. $86 million worth of hotel rooms—for 1,200 families.
“It’s been reported that more than 100 illegal immigrants who tested positive for the coronavirus have been released into Texas.
“They were told to quarantine after they traveled to their preferred destination in the United States. We don’t know where they are now. They could be in Texas. They could be anywhere. It’s scary. Yet the White House is still in denial.
“In fact, last week the White House Press Secretary had to correct herself. She accidentally used the word ‘crisis’ when talking about the border.
“A reporter asked her if that meant the White House was finally acknowledging that this is a crisis. She said no. She said, it’s just a ‘challenge.’
“Joe Biden promised us that he’d always tell the truth. Yet the Biden White House is trying to mislead the American people about one of the most important issues facing our country.
“It’s not going to work. People know this is a crisis.
“Democrats think this is some political game. In reality, this is a humanitarian crisis.
Thousands of children are being harmed because of this.
“Liberals talk a lot about how much compassion and empathy they feel. The truth is, their policies don’t lead to compassionate outcomes. They lead to some very cruel outcomes.
“As Secretary Mayorkas admits, the journey North from Central America is a ‘perilous journey.’ It’s not safe for children.
“Large numbers of children who make the journey are trafficked, sexually assaulted, or recruited by gangs.
“If this year is like previous years, thousands and thousands of children are going to be harmed because they made the journey north. There is nothing compassionate about open borders.
“This didn’t have to happen. It should not have happened. The blame rests squarely with President Biden and the open borders Democrats.
“In less than two months, President Biden has already shown himself the most open borders President in American history. It’s no surprise that the whole world has noticed.
“This crisis will not fix itself. We have to take action.
“Republicans have a series of common-sense solutions to improve the situation immediately.
“They include: enforcing the law, securing the border, and restoring the policy called ‘Remain in Mexico.’
“Without these, the Biden Border crisis will continue to undermine our nation’s safety and security.”
“Democrats just passed a bill that lets illegal immigrants get $1,400 checks. Senator Cotton and I tried to stop it.
“Every Democrat in the United States Senate voted against our amendment. They voted to give hard-earned taxpayer dollars to people who aren’t even in the country legally.
“The White House says publicly that we will not expel any illegal immigrant under the age of 18. The White House Press Secretary even mocked that idea.
“As a result, massive numbers of teens and children are crossing the border.
“Secretary Mayorkas has told the whole world that if you’re under 18, you get a free pass.
“He went on television last week and said: ‘we will not expel your child…We will care for that child and unite that child with a responsible parent.’
“In that same interview, he said, ‘I hope [children] will not undertake that perilous journey’ to our Border.
“As long as liberal policies are in place, it’s a guarantee. They will undertake the perilous journey.
“They will risk traveling at the hands of smugglers, cartels, and human traffickers to get here.
“So now the system is overwhelmed. Our border agents cannot keep up.
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement just spent $86 million to rent hotel rooms for families who illegally crossed the border. $86 million worth of hotel rooms—for over a 1,000 families.
“It’s been reported that more than 100 illegal immigrants who tested positive for the coronavirus have been released into Texas.
“They were told to quarantine after they traveled to their preferred destination in the United States. We don’t know where they are now or how many people they infected on the way.
“They could be in Texas. They could be anywhere. It’s scary. Yet the White House is still in denial.
“In fact, last week the White House Press Secretary had to correct herself. She accidentally used the word ‘crisis’ when talking about the border.
“A reporter asked her if that meant the White House was finally acknowledging that it is a crisis. She said no. She said, it’s just a ‘challenge.’
“Joe Biden promised us that he’d always tell the truth. Yet the Biden White House is trying to mislead the American people about one of the most important issues facing our country today.
“It’s not going to work. The American public know this is a crisis.
“Democrats think this is some political game. In reality, this is a humanitarian crisis.
Thousands of children are being harmed because of this.
“Liberals talk a lot about how much compassion and empathy they feel. The truth is, their policies that they have don’t lead to compassionate outcomes. They lead to some very cruel outcomes.
“As Secretary Mayorkas admits, the journey north from Central America is a ‘perilous journey.’ It is not safe for children.
“Large numbers of children who make the journey are trafficked, sexually assaulted, or recruited by gangs.
“If this year is like previous years, thousands and thousands of children are going to be harmed because they made the journey north. There is nothing compassionate about the open border policy of this administration.
“This didn’t have to happen. It should not have happened. The blame rests squarely with President Biden and the open borders Democrats.
“In less than two months, President Biden has already shown himself the most open borders President in our history as a nation. It’s no surprise that the whole world has noticed.
“This crisis will not fix itself. We need to take action.
“Republicans have a series of common-sense solutions to improve the situation immediately.
“They include: enforcing the law, securing the border, and restoring the policy called ‘Remain in Mexico.’
“Without these, the Biden Border crisis is going to continue to undermine our nation’s safety and security.”
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