Secure the Border Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Mississippi for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss H.R. 2, the House Republicans' border bill that fails to fix our broken immigration system.

I have been to our southern border twice since January because I do believe it is important that we experience those challenges firsthand. Despite there being an immense amount of work to do at our border, this legislation fails to meet the moment.

Instead of solutions, Republicans want a wall; a wall that would immediately be obsolete upon completion and would only serve as a painful reminder of the Republicans' failed border policies; a wall that would cost almost $25 million per mile to complete, resulting in a total bill to the American taxpayers of over $11 billion.

For a party that talks about wasteful government spending, how can this possibly be the best use of our taxpayer dollars?

Mr. Speaker, I and my colleagues on the Homeland Security Committee offered numerous amendments to this bill to address some of its core deficiencies. When I offered an amendment to strike this wasteful spending on an inefficient wall, it was rejected by every single Republican.

Operation Blue Lotus, a Biden administration program, has stopped over 4,000 pounds of fentanyl from being brought into the U.S. and has led to dozens of arrests and the seizure of thousands of pounds of illicit drugs. Yet, when I offered an amendment to provide congressional authorization for this successful program, it was rejected, again, by every single Republican.

Even on the issues that Republicans talk most about, like fentanyl, this bill fails to address those challenges.

Even worse, this bill treats migrants as our enemies instead of our neighbors who are simply looking to give their families the opportunities to be hopeful about their tomorrows, to give them their fair shot at their American Dream, the fair shot that all of our families were given by this country.

This bill also seeks to punish nonprofits and NGOs that, by caring for our most vulnerable neighbors, reflect the best of who we are as a country. Organizations like Catholic Charities that feed, house, and take care of migrants could lose Federal funding by simply fulfilling their spiritual mission of supporting those most in need.

Democrats offered amendments to ensure that NGOs would not be penalized for providing services to pregnant women, children, and families. Each amendment failed because not a single Republican was willing to stand up and vote for it.

This should not be who we are as a country. If this bill becomes law, it will say to the world that this is who we have become.

Mr. Speaker, I am a ``no'' on H.R. 2, and I urge all of my colleagues to do the same.

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