On the recordJune 8, 2022
Mr. President, 3 weeks ago, a Federal judge blocked the Biden Administration from lifting title 42 COVID restrictions. It was a welcome decision that will hopefully stave off an additional flood of illegal immigration on our southern border. But it has been pretty much the only bit of good news on this front, because the situation at our southern border is out of control. In April, U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered 234,088 individuals attempting to cross our border illegally--234,088. That is the highest number ever recorded. The Border Patrol is stretched thin. A recent article reported that ``around 60 percent of CBP agents have been assigned to process migrants, taking them away from field work.'' Sixty percent. Detention facilities are overflowing and massive numbers of illegal immigrants are being released into the country, many of whom will never report to an immigration office as ordered. In short, our southern border is in chaos, and if title 42 is lifted, the situation is almost guaranteed to become much worse. The Department of Homeland Security has estimated that as many as 18,000 migrants per day could attempt to cross our southern border if the policy is lifted. Eighteen thousand per day--that is more than double the number we are currently experiencing, and the administration has yet to implement any plan for dealing with such a situation.…





