Roger Wicker: “I rise this afternoon to address the crisis on our southern border and to say that we have a good opportunity with the…”

“I rise this afternoon to address the crisis on our southern border and to say that we have a good opportunity with the Senate-approved National Defense Authorization Act. It is a remarkable opportunity for this body to strengthen homeland security by increasing border security. Bad actors continue to exploit our porous southern border and to funnel criminals, fentanyl, and even suspected terrorists into our country. Just this week, Customs and Border Patrol released staggering figures. In this fiscal year, Border Patrol has handled nearly 3 million border encounters--nearly 3 million border encounters. Of urgent concern is the fact that more and more of those who cross our borders are terror threats. In this fiscal year, 160 migrants were found to be on the terror watch list, up from 100 in 2022. A smuggler with ties to ISIS shepherded a dozen migrants from Uzbekistan across the border. This alarming incident raises questions about terrorists gaining access to our country. It also highlights the increasing number of asylum seekers from Central Asia. The situation is clearly out of control. The Senate Armed Services Committee has received testimony suggesting that our adversaries see our broken border as a strategic advantage. Russia certainly does. The former Northern Command chief reports that there are more Kremlin agents in Mexico than in any other country. They are there because of the open border policies of this administration.…”