McCarthy: Biden’s Southern Border Crisis
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) spoke on the US House Floor about the southern border crisis.
McCarthy was Tuesday’s KVML “Newsmaker of the Day”. Here are his words:
“Madam Speaker — I am going to say something that President Biden refuses to.
There is a crisis on our southern border.
It is a humanitarian crisis.
A public health crisis.
A national security crisis.
It is the Biden Border Crisis.
And it’s spiraling out of control, with no signs of ending.
When candidate Biden told migrants in June to ‘immediately surge to the border,’ I knew his immigration policies would be bad.
But I didn’t think they’d be this bad.
I didn’t think they would mean 13,000 unaccompanied minors in U.S. custody.
I didn’t think it would mean moving them from the border to facilities across the country — 1,000 of them to Midland, 3,000 to Dallas, and likely to more cities.
I didn’t think the Biden Administration would require COVID tests for American citizens entering the country, but not illegal immigrants.
I didn’t think Biden’s own DHS Secretary would have to admit that we are ‘on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years.’
I didn’t think I’d hear the President of Mexico call Joe Biden the ‘Migrant President.’
And I didn’t think it would take only two months to create the worst border crisis in history.
But that is exactly what has happened.
When I visited the border on Monday, one thing was abundantly clear: this crisis started at midnight on January 20.
It started when President Biden stopped building the wall — even though there were only a few miles left to complete — and when he promised to make all 11 million illegal immigrants citizens.
My colleague Mr. Gimenez of Florida spoke with a family from Honduras about their journey to the border. He asked them how long their trek was. Twenty Two days, they said.
This family’s story is not unique. Thousands decided to cross the border now because of President Biden’s promises and policies.
As one migrant recently told Fox News, ‘Yes, I listened to the news that they were letting people in.’
Speaking to border patrol agents, American citizens, and migrants, another thing was clear: the crisis at the border is the worst I’ve ever seen.
Republicans toured the El Paso Processing Facility. 98,000 sq ft. It can hold 1,040 people. But the same morning we were there, it broke a record, and now it is over capacity.
This is what a crisis looks like.
We also saw overworked border patrol agents. In the El Paso Facility alone, 120 agents were no longer patrolling the border, but processing paperwork for migrants. That leaves gaps in our security.
This is what a crisis looks like.
Then, there are the health concerns during the pandemic. A doctor we spoke to told us that 10 percent of migrants are testing positive for COVID, but not all the migrants are being tested, so that number could be even higher.
This is what a crisis looks like.
And more alarming, Republicans were briefed by border patrol agents in El Paso that suspected terrorists were caught trying to enter the country.
This is what a crisis looks like.
I shared this alarming news because the American people deserve to know about it.
But once again, Democrats were in denial.
Congressman Gallego — the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Intelligence and Special Operations and a border state member — tweeted on Monday that I was ‘either lying or wrong’ because he hadn’t heard ‘anything’ about it.
Congresswoman Escobar — who represents El Paso — also attacked me, saying I was trying to ‘fuel the division.’
But on Tuesday, Axios confirmed that ‘Four people matching terror watchlist [were] arrested at border.’ Three from Yemen. One from Serbia.
Biden’s DHS Secretary also confirmed that this indeed happened.
If members with security clearances haven’t heard about terrorist threats on the border, I suggest they pay closer attention during classified briefings.
Madam Speaker — The responsibility for this crisis rests squarely on the shoulders of President Biden.
After weeks of claiming they could ‘handle’ it, his administration is now attempting to blame the growing crisis on the previous president.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
Words and actions have meaning, and Biden has sent the message that our border is open.
So there is no question that President Biden provoked this problem. The question is, how do we stop it?
So far, the Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats aren’t providing any solutions.
If anything, they are sending the message that anyone who makes the dangerous journey to cross the border will be rewarded.
We saw that from the Biden Administration, which told migrants ‘we aren’t saying don’t come, just don’t come now.’
We saw that last week with Democrats’ so-called COVID relief bill. $Twenty two billion in health care subsidies that illegal immigrants are eligible for, but zero dollars are dedicated to helping the men and women patrolling the border.
And we are seeing it today with Democrats wasting time on a bill that could not be less timely or targeted to the issue at hand.
The American people deserve leaders who work with the seriousness of purpose this crisis requires.
That is why I wrote a letter to President Biden two weeks ago asking to meet with him about the crisis.
Since then, the crisis has only gotten worse, but unfortunately, the President still hasn’t responded.
So today, I sent President Biden a second letter offering to relay what I learned at the border.
I know he doesn’t plan to travel there, but I believe he would benefit from hearing what we saw and heard.
I also included 5 solutions based on information from my trip. All of them are rooted in the basic idea: that we are both a nation of immigrants and a nation of laws.
If implemented now, these common sense solutions would help to stop the border crisis.
Madam Speaker — As I said earlier, the Biden Border Crisis is a humanitarian, health, and national security crisis — and it is deteriorating quickly.
To protect our citizens from further harm, our government must send a clear and united message to the citizens of Mexico and Central America.
That message is simple: there is never a right time to break the law and enter the United States illegally.
The time for delay, denial, and distractions is over — and I yield back.”
The “Newsmaker of the Day” is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
