Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of talk about children. I am the father of five children. This bill will keep families together, not separated, as exists under current law. This bill changes that law so that the Department of Homeland Security can keep family units together.

I talked to the Secretary today. She told me there were 12,000 children in these detention centers. I think it is important that we be transparent with the American people about the facts.

Ten thousand of these children did not come in with their parents. Ten thousand of these children made the dangerous journey through Central America, through Mexico, and up into the United States with their guardian being the coyote, the human smuggler, the human trafficker. During the dangerous journey, many of them were abused and exploited on the way.

I have been to the detention centers, and it is heartbreaking to see these kids. This bill provides a deterrent to stop this.

In sum, Mr. Speaker, this bill protects the children. I was a Federal prosecutor in Texas. I saw the threats coming from the United States southern border: the drug traffickers; the human traffickers; the MS- 13; the opioids we have been talking about all week, precursors coming from China into Mexico, bringing heroin and opioids into the United States, killing thousands of Americans; the violence and the destruction. That is why we need a secure border.

We have been talking about this for a long time on both sides of the aisle. Hillary Clinton talked about: ``We need a secure border.'' Barack Obama talked about: ``We need a secure border.'' Now we have a President who I think is serious about securing our border.

This bill does many things, but it sticks to the four pillars we talked about in the White House: border security, by building a wall barrier system, technology, and personnel; the visa lottery system, a random lottery system, to be more merit based to bring in talent rather than a random system; chain migration is reduced so that it is not just based on family but rather on merit; and then, finally, we provide the solution for DACA. We legalize the DACA kids. We give them legal status to stay in the United States.

I don't understand why my colleagues on the other side of the aisle can't support that.

But what I want to talk about is my role as chairman of Homeland Security, why I think this border protection is so important. This is a map of special-interest aliens' pathway into the United States. Two thousand special-interest aliens are apprehended trying to make their way into the United States every year. Special interest means special- interest countries, coming from the Middle East, from Africa, terror hotspots, coming into our hemisphere and going up into the United States.

The 9/11 Commission talked about this. They said: ``Before 9/11, no agency of the U.S. Government systematically analyzed terrorists' travel strategies. Had they done so, they could have discovered the ways in which the terrorist predecessors to al-Qaida had been systematically but detectably exploiting weaknesses in our border security since the early 1990s.''

Just recently, Secretary Nielsen testified and said: ``We have also seen ISIS, in written materials, encourage ISIS followers to cross our southwest border, given the loopholes that they are aware of.''

We heard from Rear Admiral Hendrickson, the U.S. Southern Command admiral, who said: ``Some of these people''--attempting to cross our borders--``have ties to terrorism, and some have intentions to conduct attacks in the homeland.''

Then a recently declassified CIA report written in 2003 says: Specific information at the time demonstrates al-Qaida's ``ongoing interest to enter the United States over land borders with Mexico and Canada.''

And then the CIA reported: ``Bin Laden apparently sought operatives with valid Mexican passports.''

The Secretary went on to say: `` . . . we are identifying and stopping terror suspects who would otherwise have gone undetected. In fact, on average, my department now blocks 10 known or suspected terrorists a day''--not a year--``from traveling to or attempting to enter the United States.''

I think it is time we get this done. It is my last year as chairman of this committee, and I want to end it with providing the American people the security that they deserve.

In closing, I know this is an emotional topic, and I think both sides have what they think are the best interests of the American people in their hearts. I feel that the Constitution drives me to protect the American people, and that is my most solemn, highest responsibility.

I want to close with a quote from our Secretary of Homeland Security. She said: ``The only people who benefit from the immigration system right now are the smugglers, the traffickers, those who are peddling drugs, and terrorists. So let's fix the system.''

Mr. Speaker, I agree with her. Let's fix the system. Let's protect the American people.

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