Political Quotes

“I know that we are all watching what is happening with Israel and then also looking at how that affects our national security. And in doing this, one of the things we have paid attention to is what is happening at our southern border. As you look at the numbers there, it really is quite frightening to see how people from all across the globe are coming to our southern border. Indeed, last year, we had individuals from 176 different countries that came to our southern border. Among this number, there were hundreds of gang members, there were thousands of convicted criminals, and there were individuals of interest--names of interest-- that our Border Patrol watched, and, indeed, there were people on the Terrorist Watchlist. Last year, in 2023--that is, our fiscal 2023--there were 151 apprehensions of individuals on the Terrorist Watchlist. Now, this number is really quite a dramatic increase. In 2022, there were 98 individuals on the Terrorist Watchlist who were apprehended at the southern border. In 2021, there were 15. And in 2019, there were zero-- not a one. Now, as you look at these numbers and as you look at what is happening here, it is natural to think: What has caused this uptick in terrorists that are coming to our border? If you are going to be honest about these numbers, what you would have to do is say: OK, what has changed from 2019 to 2021 and 2022 and 2023?…”