Thune: Democrats Ignore the Worst Border Crisis in American History

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke on the Senate floor about the impeachment of U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Thune noted that Senate Democrats' decision to dismiss the case without a trial to examine the evidence is unprecedented and denies the American people and the Senate the opportunity to hold the Biden administration accountable for the worst border crisis in American history.

Thune's remarks below (as prepared for delivery):

"Mr. President, 7,633,650.

"That's the number of migrant encounters at our southern border since President Biden took office.

"7,633,650.

"The situation at our southern border is out of control.

"We have had three - three - successive years of record-breaking illegal immigration under President Biden.

"And we are on track for a fourth.

"There have been more than 1.3 million migrant encounters at our southern border since October 1.

"1.3 million.

"And that number just refers to individuals who were actually apprehended.

"There have been almost 150,000 known gotaways so far this fiscal year - individuals the Border Patrol saw but was unable to apprehend.

"Often, we see migrants turning themselves in to authorities, so it is especially concerning to know that so many individuals have purposefully evaded interdiction.

"And of course we don't know how many unknown gotaways there have been.

"U.S. Border Patrol chief Jason Owens, in a March interview with CBS News, said the number of known gotaways is keeping him up at night.

"'That is a national security threat,' he noted. 'Border security is a big piece of national security. And if we don't know who is coming into our country, and we don't know what their intent is, that is a threat and they're exploiting a vulnerability that's on our border right now.'

"Mr. President, the situation at our southern border right now is a national security threat.

"There is no question that the kinds of numbers we're seeing smooth the way for dangerous individuals to enter our country.

"During fiscal year 2023, 169 individuals on the terrorist watchlist were apprehended trying to cross our southern border - more than the previous six years combined.

"And that's just the individuals who were actually apprehended.

"With somewhere around 1.8 million known gotaways since President Biden took office - and an untold number of unknown gotaways - I think we can safely assume that there are plenty of dangerous individuals making their way into our country without being stopped.

"Mr. President, while there are always various factors that affect the flow of illegal immigration, we are on track for a fourth record-breaking year of illegal immigration under the Biden administration because of the actions President Biden has taken - or failed to take.

"From the day he took office, when he rescinded the declaration of a national emergency at our southern border, President Biden made it clear that border security was at the bottom of his priority list.

"And over the three years since, he has turned our southern border into a magnet for illegal migration - from repealing effective border security policies of the Trump administration to abusing our asylum and parole systems, which are now providing temporary amnesty to hundreds of thousands of individuals here illegally.

"Which brings me to today, Mr. President.

"In just a few minutes, the Senate will be sworn in to consider the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas, one of the chief architects of the Biden administration's lax border security regime.

"And we expect the Democrat leader to move almost immediately to dismiss the charges.

"At most we expect a few hours of process, with no examination of the evidence the House has collected and essentially no consideration of the serious charges before us.

"Mr. President, whether or not senators ultimately decide that Secretary Mayorkas' actions warrant a conviction, they should be given the time to actually examine the charges.

"In a courtroom, a case is not dismissed without the court taking the time to examine the facts.

"And the Senate, sitting as a court of impeachment, should be no different.

"The Senate should be having a full trial and taking the time to examine the evidence the House has collected.

"And then senators should be able to vote guilty or not guilty.

"Instead, the Senate leader is set to sweep these charges under the rug.

"It's just more evidence of the fundamental unseriousness Democrats have shown when it comes to the raging national security crisis at our southern border.

"Mr. President, by the end of the day the Democrat leader may well have effectively made these charges disappear.

"But there's nothing the Democrat leader can do to obscure the failures of Secretary Mayorkas and President Biden.

"Thanks to their refusal to secure the border, we have experienced three successive years of record-breaking illegal immigration.

"And unfortunately there's no end in sight.

"Mr. President, I yield the floor."

Permalink: https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2024/4/thune-democrats-ignore-the-worst-border-crisis-in-american-history