The Crisis on Our Southern Border

Floor Speech

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Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, the crisis on our southern border is very real. When I took the oath to represent the big First District of Kansas, it became my responsibility to put our citizens and their security first. Without secure borders, we cannot ensure our Nation's safety, period.

We have tens of thousands of immigrants filling our entryways every month and, in result; drugs, criminals, and violence spilling into our country. I challenge all my colleagues that are denying this crisis exists to go and see our southern border firsthand, as I did, and it was quite an eye-opening moment.

Last year alone, there were 1.7 million pounds of narcotics--let me say that again--1.7 million pounds of narcotics seized by Customs and Border Patrol. Seventeen thousand adults with existing criminal records attempted to enter our southern border; that is over 40 per day.

But perhaps, Mr. Speaker, the most eye-opening of all, we are now averaging over 1,000 illegal and inadmissible people per day. That is in 1 day, over 1,000 people.

The $5.7 billion the President is asking for is an investment of taxpayer dollars that will pay off for decades.

The fact that some of my colleagues are blatantly ignoring that walls along the border work is intellectually dishonest. According to DHS and U.S. Border Patrol, illegal trafficking has dropped more than 90 percent in places where walls and barriers were built.

It is embarrassing that, even with this evidence, my friends on the other side of the aisle shut down the government because this Congress cannot do its most basic duty to do its job and prioritize our country's safety by funding initiatives that we know for a fact work.

I agree, though, that we cannot stop at border security alone. It is crucial that we also address and fix our very broken immigration system and allow hardworking migrants who want to work hard and raise their families in the United States to come.

There is a right way to do this. There is a win-win-win opportunity. There is a win for border security; there is a win for immigration policy overhaul; and there is a win to reopen the small portion of government which is closed.

I am continually frustrated by the narrative that we can't win for all American parties here in these negotiations. This is an opportune moment to quit kicking the can down the road and actually work together to couple border security priorities with long-term immigration fixes.

As we enter the 17th day of this government shutdown, I will continue to stand for a secure America and hope my colleagues choose an open government over open borders.

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