House Freedom Caucus

Floor Speech

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Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, ``securing our border'' is a term that we have heard so often it has lost its punch inside the beltway. But that doesn't mean the American people have forgotten about it.

We made a promise to our folks to secure our borders, and we have to keep that promise. Without question, funding to build a wall is necessary, and now is our chance to do it. Many sections of our border cannot be secured without a wall, and Congress must act to ensure that it is built. But bad policies like catch and release must be addressed by Congress as well.

Take the recent quotes and actions from many of the migrants who have been in these caravans, abusing our catch-and-release policy to seek asylee status in order to work in our country. These migrants were demanding entrance and jobs, waving foreign flags while burning ours, cursing our government and our President, and vowing that our laws mean nothing to them.

Are these people who share our allegiances? Should we not demand a lawful immigration system so that we can determine who we let in? Is not a secure border a prerequisite for that?

We must increase penalties for illegally crossing our border. Earlier this year, I cosponsored the Zero Tolerance for Illegal Entry Act, which would make doing so a felony. This would encourage legitimate asylum seekers to do so at authorized points of entry. This should be a component of reform.

Just this week, in a story we have seen over and over, agents arrested illegal border crossers with over 100 pounds of meth. Without our border agents, these dangerous drugs would be in our schools and in our communities.

We made a promise to our constituents to build this wall. We must prioritize the interests of the American people. I am willing to fight for this, and I hope that my colleagues are as well.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership.

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