U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the southern border crisis:
“This past weekend, Vice President Harris made a surprising announcement on ‘Meet the Press.’ The Vice President declared that, ‘the border is secure.’
“We’re about to close the fiscal year with more than 2 million illegal immigrant encounters on our southern border – breaking the all-time record that we only just set last year.
“Seizures of lethal fentanyl are also on pace to exceed last year’s total. They’re up more than 200% in just the latest month on record.
“These are not the signs of a secure border. And the American people know it. An outright majority of the country disapproves of how President Biden’s been handling this issue. The Vice President’s claims aren’t fooling anyone.
“For years now, this crisis has stretched border communities to the breaking point and caused ripples throughout the entire country. All the while, Democrats have claimed it would be cruel or uncompassionate to have a functioning southern border or enforce our laws.
“Now, in recent weeks, the country has been treated to one of the more striking displays of irony we’ve seen in a long time.
“For many years, while the citizens and local governments on the border have cried out for help and law enforcement, various Democrat-run cities and states that aren’t on our border decided to set themselves up as virtue-signaling ‘sanctuary cities’ where immigration law supposedly did not apply.
“For years, much of the political left has suggested there are no legitimate practical reasons why a country would want secure borders or to enforce its immigration laws. Only racism or xenophobia could explain it.
“Well, for several weeks now, some of these overwhelmed states have decided to try taking some of these Democrat-run jurisdictions at their word.
“Governor Abbott in Texas and Governor Ducey in Arizona have put a very small proportion of the illegal immigrants pouring into their states onto buses bound for the self-advertised ‘sanctuary cities’ of New York City and Washington D.C.
“And you know what? Just this very small taste of the chaos, this tiny sliver of what many places in America have been dealing with for years, have these cities’ Democratic Party leaders outraged, anxious, and scrambling.
“Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, has only had to receive in five weeks roughly the number of people that CBP encounters in seven or eight hours.
“New York has had over a month to handle a fraction of one day’s share of border crossings.
“And yet the Mayor says having to deal with this is, ‘horrific.’ New York City officials complain that they are overwhelmed.
“Here in Washington D.C., the destination for fewer than eight thousand illegal immigrants, the Democratic Mayor has declared a public health emergency. She begged the Pentagon to send in the National Guard for help; the Defense Department turned her down.
“It’s incredible, Mr. President, just how quickly Democrats change their tune when they have to stomach one single spoonful of the policies they’ve been force-feeding the rest of our country.
“Oh, it’s challenging to have waves of illegal immigrants pouring into your community? This creates challenges for housing and medical care and resource allocation and law enforcement? Who knew?
“As one former mayor from the front lines of this crisis put it recently, quote: ‘The city of McAllen was able to deal with thousands of immigrants a day. I think they can handle a few hundred.’
“Maybe this will be the wakeup call the Democrats need to finally understand that functional nations need functional borders.”
