On the recordJanuary 23, 2019
I thank my colleague from Arizona for this Special Order and for the opportunity to speak. Mr. Speaker, last weekend, a handful of colleagues and I toured the southern border between Arizona and Mexico, meeting with Border Patrol agents, ranchers, law enforcement, and Angel Families, who have lost loved ones to illegals. Mr. Speaker, I can say, more confidently than ever, that we need stronger border security. This is not--I repeat, not--a manufactured crisis on the border, as we are hearing the opposite side of the aisle say. This crisis at the border is getting worse, but the solution is the same: we must secure our borders in order to regain control of our broken immigration system. The brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect our country are doing so without the full support of the Federal Government, and that is unacceptable and tragic. It certainly is not a manufactured crisis. We need to build a border wall, construct roads and infrastructure, improve our technological resources, and restore pay to Border Patrol agents that was stripped out under the Obama administration. I hear our Democratic opponents say across the aisle that walls are immoral and ineffective. A wall is not immoral. It is absolutely necessary. Certainly, a wall will not prevent all illegals from coming over, but no wall keeps no one out. Mr.…
