Providing for Consideration of H.R. Secure the Border Act of Providing for Consideration of H.R. Protecting Taxpayers and Victims of Unemployment Fraud Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the closed rule and the underlying bill.

H.R. 2, the child deportation act, was developed in an extreme MAGA echo chamber. Homeland Security Committee Republicans defeated all 43 amendments offered by Democrats to fix the bill's many flaws.

This closed rule goes a step further and blocks House consideration of amendments like the one I filed adding 1,700 CBP officers at ports of entry to process migrants, facilitate trade and tourism, and interdict fentanyl.

More than 90 percent--as you have already heard--of hard drugs are interdicted at ports of entry--this is information passed to us by CBP--but Republicans refuse to make investments in the many ports of entry workforce or technology.

Worse yet, the bill does nothing to address cartels and fentanyl trafficking.

The rule doubles down on Donald Trump's border wall by blocking consideration of an amendment filed by Representative Troy Carter to protect landowners from eminent domain.

With new border wall segments likely to cost about $46 million per mile, building 900 miles of wall could total billions.

Finally, this closed ruled blocks consideration of Representative Robert Garcia's amendment to strike language that villainizes community and religious organizations which provide basic necessities to migrants.

H.R. 2 is written so poorly that it could force the American Red Cross to verify each person's immigration status before offering help. Can you imagine if groups have to say, ``Show us your papers''? That is just cruel.

I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule and the underlying bill.

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