On the recordJuly 18, 2023
I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana for yielding time today. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the rule and protecting our communities and our public schools from paying the price for the Biden administration's broken border policies. Five counties in my district have declared a state of emergency in responding to the overwhelming influx of illegal immigration that Democrats in Washington and in my own State of New York refuse to address. Many of the communities in my district already struggle to provide essential services, but thanks to President Biden, Governor Hochul, and Mayor Adams, they are now forced to shoulder the heavy burden of housing illegal migrants. For anyone who wants to call those supportive of this effort today as lacking compassion, cruel, callous, whatever they want to come up with, I have this to say: My constituents, who are struggling to accommodate an influx of people who broke the law to enter this country, do not lack compassion. They are simply trying to survive in the face of an administration that refuses to protect this country's sovereignty and to secure our borders. Families like those in my district who have seen their loved ones die from the fentanyl flooding into our communities, they are not callous. They are desperate to see something done to stop the flow of lethal substances and save as many lives as possible.…
