Hearings to examine Remain in Mexico; to be immediately followed by a business meeting to consider an original resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the President of the United States possesses the authority under current law to take immediate and necessary action to secure the southwest border of the United States, and committee rules of procedure.
Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments
2025-01-16
Source: Congress.gov
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Transcript
The committee will now come to order. There's been a significant question raised in the past year or so whether or not the president has enough power to fix the problems at the border. And that's what this hearing will be about is, is there enough statutory authority for the president to do things that need to be done at the border? Over the past four years, we have witnessed an unprecedented erosion of security at our borders. This deterioration was marked by a complete disregard for the laws that were put in place to protect US citizens. Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, nearly 11 million individuals have been encountered attempting to illegally enter the United States. In his first year in office, President Biden repealed over 80 of President Trump's policies that had effectively secured the southwest border. What was once a controlled and secure boundary quickly turned into a revolving door. These open-door policies allowed individuals, many with little to no documentation, to show up, state their name or a name, and waltz right into the country. The Biden-Harris administration claims they check everyone against criminal databases. but they only do so against US and allied nations records, leaving massive blind spots for criminals from countries that don't share information or have reliable databases. Criminals and terrorist-linked individuals were able to slip into the country undetected, often disappearing without ever appearing at their court dates. Customs and Border Protection apprehended nearly 400 suspected terrorists attempting to illegally enter the ports of entry, another 1,500 at ports of entry. And these are just the ones that managed to get caught. Countless others have evaded detection. During these last few years, the laws that exist to protect this nation were bent, abused, and outright ignored. Parole, which is meant to be used sparingly, became a loophole, and asylum laws were distorted to justify an open border agenda.
Tragically, Lakin Riley was brutally murdered because the Biden administration paroled her killer. No other family should ever have to endure the pain hers has. President Biden discarded proven strategies like Remain in Mexico, which was undeniably successful in deterring illegal entries. The results were immediate and disastrous. During the last full month of Trump administration, when Remain in Mexico was in fact In effect, border encounters were under 70,000. After its repeal, the number surged to over 100,000 and continued to rise. Remember this. Under the Obama administration, their standard for what constituted a crisis was 1,000 attempted crossings in a day. Under the Biden-Harris administration, there had been on average over 6,000 encounters daily at the southwest border, yet they insisted there was no crisis. Their policies created a pull effect, enticing migrants to pay cartels thousands of dollars for a treacherous journey to the southwest border. The message over time, over the last four years, has been if you show up, we'll find a way to get you in. And who has benefited from that? The cartels who profit from this human pipeline and terrorist-linked individuals exploiting the chaos to slip in unnoticed. All the powers needed to address this crisis, we believe, already exist under current law. The President has the authority to implement Remain in Mexico, and the Department of Homeland Security can immediately return migrants to a neighboring foreign country. The President also holds broad powers to suspend or restrict entry for any group deemed detrimental to our national interest. Section 208 of the Immigration Nationality Act says the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security may grant asylum, not shall grant asylum. Section 208 also allows President Trump to make anyone illegally entering the country ineligible for asylum. Additionally, under Section 212, President Trump can stop the entry of illegal aliens altogether.
Finally, Section 235 authorizes him to immediately place illegal immigrants back onto the Mexican side of the border. The 2024 election was a clear mandate from the American people to reverse President Biden's disastrous open border policies. We must reinstate, remain in Mexico, and use the other existing authorities to the full extent. That is why immediately following this hearing, we will vote on affirming the president's and the Secretary of Homeland Security's legal authority to secure the southwest border, including taking immediate steps to remove illegal aliens, reinstate, remain in Mexico, and end catch and release. The Trump administration demonstrated that when the law is enforced properly, it works. This resolution reaffirms that President Trump or any president has broad authority to resolve the ongoing crisis. I urge my colleagues to stand with us, uphold the rule of law, and restore order at our nation's borders. This time I will recognize the ranking member, Senator Peters. Thank you, Chairman Paul.
As a member of this committee, I have long made securing our borders a top priority. I've been pleased to work with members on both sides of the aisle to advance bipartisan, common-sense legislation that strengthens border security and provides tools and resources to support our border security professionals as they carry out their extremely challenging missions. I look forward to working together to continuing these efforts in this Congress.
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