Crisis At the Southern Border

Floor Speech

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Ms. MALLIOTAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the deadly consequences of President Biden's open borders.

In the last month, three Border Patrol agents have committed suicide, bringing the total number of agents who have sadly taken their own lives to 14 this year. That tragically adds to the 35 who have been killed in the line of duty in 2021.

With President Biden tying the hands of our agents and enabling lawlessness at our border, morale among the force has been crushed to an unthinkable low--so low, in fact, that the CBP has hired a suicidologist to help prevent further loss among its force.

Our CBP agents are overwhelmed, overworked, underfunded, and they are demoralized. They put their lives on the line every day to defend our Nation's borders while receiving no support from the top levels of our government.

In fact, the President says that there are more important things going on.

It should not come as a shock that so many are at wit's end.

While some have taken their own lives, many others have been seriously injured or have made the ultimate sacrifice while on the front lines.

In April, 22-year-old Texas National Guard Specialist Bishop Evans was swept away in the Rio Grande while attempting to save two migrants from drowning. We later found out that the two he sacrificed his life for were actually attempting to traffic illegal narcotics.

Just last week, a 38-year-old father of two, CBP Agent Raul Humberto Gonzalez was killed in an ATV crash while chasing a group of migrants illegally crossing the border.

Perhaps if the cartels were not allowed free rein on our border to smuggle drugs and to traffic humans, Specialist Bishop Evans and Agent Gonzalez would be with us today.

No one has benefited more from this country's lax open border policies than the cartels. The Drug Enforcement Agency has told us that up to 70 to 80 percent of fentanyl in the United States comes into our country over the southern border. We know the vast majority of fentanyl is being manufactured in China and brought into our country over the southern border straight into American cities poisoning our youth.

The Drug Enforcement Agency is telling us that is where it is coming from, yet we continue to have an open border policy, and this body refuses to act to secure our border.

Drug overdoses are the leading cause of death of 18-to 45-year-olds in the United States, killing 100,000 Americans last year alone; three- quarters of those deaths are from fentanyl. One American dies every 7 minutes from this deadly drug streaming over our open border, and by the time I finish this speech, there will be one more American lost.

Our babies are dying. Last month, San Francisco firefighters had to use Narcan to save the life of a 10-month-old baby boy who came into contact with fentanyl while playing in a park. In May, a 3-year-old in California died from a fentanyl overdose, and in November of last year, so did a 1-year-old child in Connecticut. In the last 3 months, there have been two fatal fentanyl exposures in western Washington State involving children no older than 2 years old.

The fact that our babies are overdosing on this poison should alarm every single person in this Chamber. The silence from many of those on the other side of the aisle and the Biden administration is, quite frankly, sickening. And if you hear anything at all, they tell you that the border is secure--a complete lie.

Biden's open borders have created full-blown national security, public safety, and humanitarian crises in the United States, not only for our law enforcement and constituents but for the migrants as well.

In fact, fiscal year 2022 was the deadliest year ever recorded for migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border unlawfully with 853 migrant deaths. Many drowned in the Rio Grande. They perished due to dehydration from battling extreme heat and difficult terrain or taken deadly falls while climbing border barriers.

In June, 53 migrants were found dead in San Antonio after being abandoned in a tractor trailer without air-conditioning or water. In September, a migrant mother of two committed suicide in a New York City homeless shelter. Her 15-year-old son discovered her body. Think about the consequences he will have for the rest of his life.

Some have accused the Republicans who want to secure our borders of being uncompassionate. The greatest humanitarian crisis in our country is unfolding right before our eyes, and I urge our colleagues and our President to work with us to take action to secure it.

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