Denouncing the Biden Administration's Open-Borders Policies, Condemning the National Security and Public Safety Crisis Along the Southwest Border, and Urging President Biden to End His Administration's Open- Borders Policies
Floor Speech
Mr. Speaker, this country is facing real problems. The right to bodily autonomy is under attack across the Nation. There was a school shooting just 4 days into the new year, leading to the tragic death of an 11-year-old and the injury of 7 others.
Our immigration system cannot function because Congress has failed to reform it for over 30 years, and Republican hard-liners are threatening to shut down the government if we don't ``shut down the border.''
House Republicans are not working to respond to any of these problems as they are too busy fighting among themselves. Their historic dysfunction has even prompted multiple Members of their Conference to complain that they have nothing to campaign on.
Today's resolution is not going to help. This resolution will do nothing to solve the situation at the border. It proposes no solutions of any kind. In fact, this resolution is nothing more than a highlight reel of the Republican talking points on immigration that we have heard over and over from Republicans since President Biden was sworn into office.
Let me say once again: The border is not open. The Biden administration has been removing people at a record clip over the last few months, restricting asylum with a new regulation, and placing thousands of families in expedited removal.
Since the end of title 42 last May, the Biden administration has removed or returned nearly a half million individuals. That is more than the number of people removed in all of fiscal year 2019 under the Trump administration.
However, because President Biden isn't saying that he wants to shoot migrants trying to cross the border, like Governors Abbott and DeSantis have, Republicans don't think he is doing enough.
Further, despite my colleagues' claims, fentanyl is largely not coming into this country between ports of entry. More than 90 percent of fentanyl interdicted is stopped at ports of entry where cartels attempted to smuggle it in through primarily vehicles driven by American citizens.
I am not sure how anyone can say the border is open.
On top of this, at every turn, Republicans have voted against giving the administration the resources it needs to do its job. Nearly every current House Republican voted against the bipartisan infrastructure deal in the fiscal year 2023 omnibus.
Both of these bills provided significant additional funding to increase staffing and modernize ports of entry to combat the smuggling of people and drugs.
We need to work together to address our broken immigration system. Right now we have a system where many, many people come into this country, present themselves to Border Patrol or not. They are apprehended. They claim asylum under our law. They are entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge, but because we don't have enough asylum officers and immigration judges, their case isn't heard for years, so they are told to come back in 4 years or whatever for their hearing, and the Republicans call this catch and release.
If the Biden administration's proposals for funding for more border guards, more CBP people, more asylum and immigration judges would be approved, then these claims could be adjudicated in a matter of weeks, not years. Those entitled to asylum would be granted it in weeks and would be permitted to work, and those not entitled to it would be swiftly deported.
However, due to the lack of resources caused by Republican insistence on voting against those resources, this doesn't happen, and we have the catch and release system and millions of people staying in this country when they shouldn't entirely because of the Republicans, and then they say it is President Biden's open border policy.
We need to work together to address our broken immigration system. Unfortunately, House Republicans insist they will only consider H.R. 2, their fantasy, draconian, enforcement-only bill which stands no chance of passage in the Senate.
Real solutions require compromise, but MAGA Republicans aren't interested in compromise. What they are interested in is passing bills like the one before us today. I should say resolutions. This is not a bill.
This resolution is nothing but empty rhetoric designed to score cheap political points that bring us no closer to meaningful reform.
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Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, the reason the gentleman from Arizona couldn't find any Border Patrol agents is because Republicans have refused to vote the appropriations to greatly increase the number of Border Patrol agents that the Biden administration has proposed.
We know there aren't enough Border Patrol agents. The administration knows this. The administration has proposed funding for many more Border Patrol agents, but the Republicans have refused to vote for it. Then they complain that they can't find Border Patrol agents along the border.
Jayapal), the ranking Democrat on the Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement Subcommittee.
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Mr. NADLER. Escobar).
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Mr. NADLER. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman for yielding, and I am very glad that my colleagues, and some from Texas, want to have the real truth discussed on this floor.
The real truth is that President Biden has not fostered nor encouraged open borders. In fact, the United States does not have open borders.
It would be truly an act of real leadership if Republicans would work with Democrats and the present administration to do as was done during the Reagan administration when, yes, whether you agreed or disagreed, immigration laws were passed. If this Republican contingent of Members, House and Senate, would work, we would find a resolution to some of the concerns that we have.
It is very clear that the impeachment of Secretary Mayorkas is not a solution. The present resolution that we have is not a solution.
Today, there are approximately 38,000 people in immigration detention, which is 4,000 more than what DHS is funded for. People without facts don't realize, somewhat similar to Trump, many of us are concerned about due process rights, but when accusations are made about one party is better than another, that is not true. Of course, there were those removed under title 42, and the Biden administration did that when that law was in place. The total is nearly equivalent to the number of people removed in all of fiscal 2019 in the past administration.
However, this administration wants to put forward reasonable and effective legislation so that we will get an additional 1,300 Border Patrol agents, 375 immigration judges, 1,600 asylum officers to speed up processing of asylum claims, 1,000 CBP officers, new detection technology for ports of entry, additional investigative capabilities to combat fentanyl trafficking, and $1.4 billion more to help communities receiving migrants.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, quickly, fentanyl is not an immigration issue. It is a criminal issue, a crime issue. It is where we have to come together with our law enforcement across America.
What I will say, the utilization of State laws that effectively are not governed by the Constitution, States do not have immigration authority, and blocking the Border Patrol is not an effective immigration tool. Causing a mother and two of her children to die is not an immigration tool. I don't want to be a part of it.
I want to be a part of the work that the President is doing. I thank the President and Vice President. I want this House to be helping in this work so that we can, in fact, have border solutions that work, where visas are able to be given to the appropriate people.
Limiting or removing parole does not work.
Additionally, 8.3 million relatives of U.S. citizens and legal residents are awaiting a green card. That does not work.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an article written by David J. Bier titled: ``8.3 Million Relatives of U.S. Citizens & Legal Residents Awaited Green Cards in 2022.'' [May 17, 2023] 8.3 Million Relatives of U.S. Citizens & Legal Residents Awaited Green Cards in 2022 (By David J. Bier)
The United States hit a new record of about 8.3 million immigrants at various stages in its family-sponsored permanent residence process in 2022--an increase of nearly 1 million since 2019. The staggering number of pending cases is primarily the result of outdated caps on green cards, but processing delays are also affecting a substantial number of applicants.
The U.S. immigration system's current caps came into effect in fiscal year 1992. Figure 1 breaks down the family-based backlog into its two main categories: immediate relatives (``uncapped'') and family preference immigrants (``capped'') from 1992 to 2022. Immediate relatives--spouses, minor children, and parents of adult U.S. citizens--have no direct cap (though their admissions reduce the cap for the family preference (or capped) immigrants from 480,000 to 226,000). The immediate relative backlog has increased from about 73,000 in 1992 to over 1 million in 2022.
Family preference immigrants are spouses and children of legal permanent residents, adult children of U.S. citizens, and siblings of adult U.S. citizens, as well as any spouses and minor children of those relatives. Immigrants who need a cap number available to apply for a green card made up about 86 percent of the family-based backlog in 2022. From 1992 to 2022, the number of capped family-sponsored immigrants stuck in the backlog increased from about 3.3 million to about 7.1 million. The cap is set at 226,000 annually.
These estimates differ significantly from the most commonly referenced source for information on the family-sponsored green card backlog: the State Department's annual immigrant visa waiting list report. The numbers from that report are shown in orange (Petition Approved-Wait Listed (Abroad)), but that report does not include several groups of applicants. It excludes the ``immediate relative'' or uncapped categories, anyone waiting to apply inside the United States, and--most importantly--anyone whose petition is yet to be adjudicated. As Figure 2 shows, 3.6 million had a sponsor's petition pending. This massive backlog in pending petitions is largely because of the government's correct view that it shouldn't waste resources adjudicating applications that will not result in a green card being issued thanks to the cap.
The overall cap is set at 226,000, but it is divided into 5 categories based on the immigrant's marital status and relationship to the U.S. sponsor:
1. F-1--Married adult children of U.S. citizens: 23,400
2. F-2A--Spouses and minor children of legal permanent residents: 687,900
3. F-2B--Unmarried adult children of legal permanent residents: 626,300
4. F-3--Unmarried adult children of U.S. citizens: 23,400
5. F-4--Siblings of U.S. citizens: 65,000
In addition, immigrants from each country have a separate limit. No single birthplace can receive more than 7 percent of the green cards, though 75 percent of the F-2A category aren't counted against the cap.
As a result of the country caps and category caps, applicants face wildly different potential wait times: anywhere from 6 years to 233 years (effectively infinite). As seen in Table 1, the odds of a new family-sponsor surviving to be able to act as a sponsor when a green card is available under the cap is low in many category-country combinations. Virtually all new sponsors from Mexico in 2022--outside the F-2A category--will die before their family member receives a green card. In fact, nearly 40 percent of all new sponsors in 2022 and 58 percent of sponsors in non-F-2A categories will die before their relatives get to immigrate. Even if the sponsor survives for eternity, about 1.6 million immigrants currently in the backlog will die before receiving a green card.
Even the shortest wait for F-2A category--for spouses and minor children of green card holders--is unconscionable. 6 to 10 years to wait to be with your nuclear family? This would be unimaginable in nearly all developed democracies. The United States stands apart in having some of the most restrictive immigration laws among wealthy countries.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Restricting immigration and parole is a lose-lose situation, as is rejecting DACA young people who are, in fact, ready to be paramedics, lawyers, doctors, teachers.
The White House calls on Congress to advance critical national security.
All of this is what President Biden is doing, and I would make the argument that this is what we should be doing in order to have real immigration reform. I ask that we do not support the underlying bill.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H. Res. 957-- denouncing the Biden administration's open-borders policies, condemning the national security and public safety crisis along the southwest border, and urging President Biden to end his administration's open- borders policies.
This resolution is yet another shameful effort to distract the American people with unviable solutions for immigration and border control--all in the face of inaction to prevent our government from shutting down once again.
This resolution does nothing to address legitimate issues at the southern border--instead, it repeats an old list of hyperbolic Republican talking points on immigration.
Rather than working constructively to address these issues, House Republicans continue to make the evidence-free argument that President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary Mayorkas have intentionally created a ``national security and public safety crisis'' at the southern border.
This bill peddles the false narrative that President Biden has an open-borders policy and vi11ainizes immigrants fleeing dangerous situations.
And it does nothing to advance common sense solutions to improve our immigration system like creating better legal pathways, increasing processing capacity at ports of entry, or funding more immigration judges to reduce the asylum backlog.
It is truly shameful that just days until a government shutdown, my Republican colleagues continue to waste time with a resolution that repeats the same, tired, inaccurate talking points on immigration and the border.
Once again, Republicans talk a big game when it comes to immigration and border security--but instead of trying to pass thoughtful and bipartisan legislation that might fix the problems in our immigration system, their resolution accomplishes nothing.
Let's look at the facts.
Today, there are approximately 38,000 people in immigration detention, which is 4,000 more than what DHS is funded for and roughly what the Trump administration averaged in Fiscal Year 2018.
The Biden administration has also significantly increased removals (in ways that many in our caucus worry violates due process).
Since the end of Title 42 last year, the Biden administration has removed or returned to Mexico over 470,000 individuals, including over 78,000 individual members of family units, including children.
The total is nearly equivalent to the number of people removed in ALL of fiscal year 2019 under the Trump administration.
This is hardly an open border.
Time and again, my colleagues across the aisle have refused to support additional resources and personnel for the border.
In 2021, all but six current House Republicans voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, which provided additional funding to ports of entry to combat smuggling of people and drugs, and for modernization.
All but two current House Republicans voted against providing robust funding for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and border security operations in the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations omnibus legislation.
That bill provided more than $17 billion to CBP, including funding for an additional 300 U.S. Border Patrol agents--the first increase since 2011.
The omnibus also included $60 million to hire 125 CBP officers and $70 million for nonintrusive inspection technology to detect narcotics and firearms at ports of entry.
In October of 2023, the Biden administration sent Congress a supplemental funding request, which included an additional $13.6 billion for border security.
Yet House Republicans refuse to schedule a vote on this funding request, which would provide the Biden administration the resources it needs to secure the border and provide additional support for communities receiving migrants.
More specifically, this supplemental funding would pay for the following:
an additional 1,300 Border Patrol agents;
375 immigration judges and 1,600 asylum officers to speed up processing of asylum claims;
1,000 CBP officers with a focus on countering fentanyl;
new detection technology for ports of entry;
additional investigative capabilities to combat fentanyl trafficking; and
$1.4 billion more in grants to help communities receiving migrants, among other investments.
Democrats have put forward good faith bipartisan solutions to actually secure the border by expanding lawful pathways to relieve pressure on the border and adequately fund government agencies.
By forcing a vote on a meaningless resolution filled with empty rhetoric, Republicans are showing they have no real solutions to address the border. Members should not take the bait.
In sum, this resolution is a pitiful attempt to continue the politicization of our government's ability to function.
All a vote would do is put every Republican who supports it on record pushing this extreme agenda.
This is not what Congress should be focused on. Democrats and President Biden will stay focused on putting people over politics and keeping our government funded and functioning for the American people.
As such, I ask my colleagues to vote NO on this shameful resolution providing for debate on these highly politicized and dangerous bills.
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Mr. NADLER. Tlaib).
We know from the newspapers and from talking to our colleagues in the Senate that Senate negotiators, Democrats and Republicans, are close to an agreement on a bill to provide for border security and an immigration bill.
The Speaker of the House has said that no matter what they agree to, he is not willing to look at it, that he is not willing to have this House pass any immigration bill whatsoever.
It ill behooves the Republicans to decry lack of border security when the Speaker of the House has announced that under no circumstances will they do anything about it.
Mr. Speaker, we need to work together to address our broken immigration system. Enforcement alone cannot fix it. We know this because that approach has largely failed for three decades.
We need to update our immigration system so that it meets the needs of our country. We need a balanced, bipartisan approach that expands lawful pathways. This will help relieve pressure on the border and allow people to come to this country in an orderly and efficient way.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution will accomplish none of that. Instead of reaching across the aisle in search of meaningful solutions, this resolution uses empty rhetoric to score cheap political points.
This resolution doesn't claim to accomplish anything for immigration reform. All it does is condemn President Biden.
In a Congress that has broken records for its lack of accomplishments, this is just one more useless bill that does nothing to help the American people.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.
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