On the recordSeptember 19, 2023
Mr. President, I remember when title 42 went away--the COVID public health order that the Border Patrol used to expel people from the border region in the interest of public health. There were many people who expected a surge of migration recognizing what a moneymaking opportunity that human smuggling and drug smuggling is for the cartels that control much of the U.S.-Mexican border. And for a while it looked like maybe--just maybe--that surge would not happen. But despite the administration's best efforts to downplay or distract from the situation at the southern border, we now see the Biden border crisis in full flower. Preliminary data secured by the Washington Post shows that last month--last month--a record number of migrant families illegally crossed the southern border. In August, the Border Patrol arrested more than 91,000 migrants--in August--people who entered the United States as part of a family unit, the highest number we have seen in a single month. But it is not just the families; apprehension numbers have increased dramatically over the past couple of months in all categories. We have gone from just under 100,000 detentions in June to 132,000 in July, to more than 177,000 in August. I would point out that much of the migration we have seen into Texas has been seasonal because it has been very hot, and it is dangerous for migrants to make the dangerous trip from their home to our border. But that hasn't happened this year.…





