Issues of the Day

Floor Speech

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Mr. ROSE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding to me tonight.

Mr. Speaker, President Biden's policies at the southern border are working if the goal has been to let more than 8 million illegal immigrants enter the country. That is more than the entire population of my home State of Tennessee. If that is the goal, then indeed his policies are working.

For example, look no further than on the campaign trail in 2019 when then-candidate Biden said to a crowd of Iowa voters: ``We could afford to take in a heartbeat another 2 million people.''

While campaigning from his basement for the job of Commander in Chief, he never hid the fact that he would use his executive authority to ``increase the total number of immigrants able to come to the United States.''

He was clear as could be. It was a promise made, a promise kept, and a promise multiplied four times over.

That quote, which can be found online in seconds, gives much-needed context as to why he issued 94 executive actions on immigration in his first 100 days in office, fought to end the Trump-era remain in Mexico policy and title 42, and why the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has released millions of illegal immigrants into our country in open disregard for the law. These actions, coupled with dozens more, continue to send a message to Latin America and around the world, including to suspected terrorists, that our borders are open.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has willfully misused parole authority to flood communities with illegal immigrants, despite a conclusion from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that the department could not simply parole every illegal alien they are unable to detain. Without any approval from Congress, Secretary Mayorkas has also created and expanded several parole programs. Again, this isn't a policy failure. This is their policy.

Despite the department recently admitting that 40 percent--40 percent--of catch and release migrants had disappeared, the open-border policies of this administration continue.

Americans should know that President Biden already has all of the power and authority he needs to end this crisis immediately. Just compare his numbers to President Trump's. In December, 2023, alone, DHS reported 302,000 illegal immigrant encounters at the southern border, which is a 300 percent increase from December 2020.

This marks 34 straight months where illegal immigrant encounters were higher under President Biden's administration than they ever were in a single month under President Trump.

In the last fiscal year, DHS encountered 169 people on the terrorist watch list. That set a record as it was more than fiscal years 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 combined--the majority of Trump's presidency.

The Immigration and Nationality Act, coupled with recent Supreme Court precedent, gives President Biden ample authority to suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. The sad reality is the President isn't asleep at the wheel when it comes to securing the border. He is alert with both hands on the wheel driving it into the ditch.

This is the America he told us he would champion. Despite his desire to usurp Congress, however, House Republicans will continue to hold his administration accountable for its unwillingness to enforce our laws. That is why House Republicans continue to push for H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, which would force President Biden to end the catch and release policy, pay more for Border Patrol agents, and restart border wall construction.

Unfortunately, even with thousands of pounds of fentanyl pouring through and thousands of young people dead, I don't believe we will see a change of heart needed by this President to secure the border. In fact, it has become apparent that we likely won't see any impactful changes at our southern border until a new President takes office. Until then, I won't hold my breath waiting for President Biden.

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