Secure the Border Act of 2023

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. LEE of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, which is the most comprehensive border bill to reach the House floor in modern history.

The Biden administration's border policies have led to a national security and humanitarian crisis at our southern border, turning every community into a border community.

This administration's failure to secure the border has led to a record amount of illegal drugs, both around the border and in our communities, and has enabled human trafficking and the exploitation of children.

Recently, law enforcement in my community announced that they have seized enough fentanyl to kill every Floridian.

In addition to the drugs flowing into our communities, we have seen a tragic flow of unaccompanied minors across our border, which has led many of them to fall victim to human trafficking, abuse, and mistreatment.

A grand jury in Florida recently uncovered alarming details about Federal agencies losing track of more than 20,000 children, and failing to perform background checks on minors' sponsors, again, leading to incidents of trafficking, exploitation, and abuse. An open border is not humanitarian. When we fail to control our borders, the drug cartels will.

House Republicans know that border security is national security, and that is why we must pass the Secure the Border Act. This legislation will increase the number of Border Patrol agents, strengthen current law to protect unaccompanied children, and bolster our border's infrastructure.

We have a constitutional duty to secure our border and to ensure our communities back home are kept safe. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source