Protecting Our Communities From Failure to Secure the Border Act of 2023

Floor Speech

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Mr. OGLES. Mr. Chair, $451 billion, that is the cost of the American taxpayer of caring for illegals who broke our laws and unlawfully entered our country.

My amendment simply requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to jointly submit an annual report, just a report, to Congress that includes the number of aliens that have been provided housing on federally managed lands and information regarding such aliens' countries of origin.

This will be critical data, Mr. Chairman, and this amendment should have bipartisan support.

This administration is extending an open invitation for foreign nationals to invade our country and undermine the sovereignty of the United States. As a reward, they are going to have their housing, education, and every cost taken care of. If these illegal aliens need a trip to the hospital, they don't need to meet a deductible because the American taxpayer pays for it.

Between 16.8 million and 29 million illegals currently reside in the United States, an incentive for more to come freely. There were 341,000 apprehensions at U.S. borders to the north and southwest made in September. That is 1 month; setting an all-time record. There were 309,000 apprehensions calculated in October.

Mr. Chairman, this has to stop. We are a sovereign Nation. We have a right to manage our lands. We have a right to say no.

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Mr. OGLES. Mr. Chairman, I acknowledge my colleague's comment regarding laws; that this bill, if passed, would essentially ban folks from being housed on Federal lands. It should also be noted that there are laws on the books that require our border to be secure, and, yet, this administration ignores those laws. This amendment requires accountability to the aforementioned.

Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman).

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Mr. OGLES. Mr. Chair, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, with this bill, part of what we are trying to accomplish is securing our border, securing our country. There are hard-earned taxpayer dollars being sent to house illegals.

In New York alone, Mayor Adams has said that housing illegals could cost up to $12 billion. That is $12 billion that could be used for children in need, to educate our children, for children who are underperforming in school. That is $12 billion that the city of New York could use for our veterans.

We have to prioritize Americans. We have to prioritize the security of our border.

I was in Tucson in August, and I was in an area that was even then controlled by the cartel. Now, we hear because of the war, the shooting, the lawlessness in that very sector, that the Border Patrol has had to pull back.

There is a war going on at our southern border, and it could be stopped, Mr. Chairman. It is time to close, to secure, our border. You have women and children who are being raped daily at our southern border, and this administration is doing nothing about it. I have had enough. All this amendment does is require a report. It requires accountability.

Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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