Mark Alford: “I thank my friend from Texas for yielding time. I rise in support of the rule for this bill package of four measures…”

“I thank my friend from Texas for yielding time. I rise in support of the rule for this bill package of four measures, actually, which includes the No Immigration Benefits for Hamas Terrorists Act. I also express my strong support for securing our border. Now, I feel like I must start out by addressing the fallacy brought forth by our ranking member on the Rules Committee. This is not a political measure--on the part of the Republicans, anyway--if it had been, for a Presidential or congressional election year, why did we pass H.R. 2 last year? We passed it in May of last year, and it has been sitting across the hallway here on Chuck Schumer's desk since May. The Democrats have refused to secure our border, and an open border makes America vulnerable on the world stage. Biden's border crisis has turned every American community into a border community. Since Biden has taken office, more than 8.7 million illegal aliens have invaded our Nation. For 34 straight months, Mr. Speaker, monthly encounters have been at a higher rate than even the highest month during the Trump administration. This is a humanitarian crisis. They are bringing in fentanyl that is poisoning our young people. They are bringing human sex trafficking with them. Mr. Speaker, 100,000 children who have come across our border illegally are now unaccounted for in America. The rising number of illegal aliens is alarming. It is unacceptable.…”