Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2025

Floor Speech

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Mr. FEENSTRA. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment to the Homeland Security appropriations bill.

President Biden has overseen the worst border crisis in our Nation's history. Since the beginning of his administration, nearly 8 million illegal immigrants have crossed over our southern border with 2 million evading capture from Border Patrol.

Even known terrorists and drugs have come through this wide-open border, but this didn't happen by accident.

The administration's policies have created this crisis by failing to enforce our laws, not holding drug traffickers accountable for their crimes, and not finishing the wall.

This amendment exposes this administration's refusal to build the wall and secure our border. It directs the Department of Homeland Security to use the money confiscated from the drug cartels to build the border wall and protect our communities.

The cartels do not deserve to keep a single penny of the money they have made smuggling deadly drugs that are coming into our communities. They deserve jail time for their crimes.

I urge my colleagues to support my amendment because the American people deserve secure borders and safe communities, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. FEENSTRA. Mr. Chair, this amendment is not controversial. It is actually a very commonsense amendment. We are seizing drugs from the cartels, and we are using money that is also seized from the cartels to build the wall.

We need to build the wall to secure our border. We should have the criminals that are endangering our communities help pay for this project. It is very simple.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

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