On the recordSeptember 15, 2021
Mr. President, border security is one of the government's most important responsibilities. A sovereign, successful Nation's self-determination and safety depend upon it, and we are no exception. Our border security rests exclusively with the Federal Government. And the Department of Homeland Security--a Cabinet created in 2002, I believe, in the aftermath of the September 11 attack--is entrusted with this paramount duty of protecting our border. Fusing homeland with security for its name wasn't an accident. That wordage casts the Department's purpose to protect the country from external threats, both from people and from products. And Americans pay for that Department handsomely and for its responsibilities about $52 billion a year. However, a grave, unprecedented crisis exists at our southern border. Our television reminds us of that fact daily. Foreign nationals are illegally crossing into our country from Mexico by the thousands every day. I heard recently that last month was the biggest number coming in for over 20 years. But illegal immigration isn't the only crime cascading over our borders. Mexican cartels are importing deadly drugs and trafficking humans. These horrific, unabated events make very clear that the cartels effectively control our southern border. They actually manage who and what enters our country from Mexico. But the danger is preventable. The trouble exists because the current administration deliberately refuses to secure the border.…





