Student Loan Disclosure Transparency Act of 2023

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this unserious and politically motivated resolution.

It is sad that today we are wasting time on this pointless resolution, which is nothing more than a campaign press release, rather than addressing real problems facing the American people, but a do- anything resolution is right in line with this do-nothing Congress.

The House is about to go on vacation for 6 weeks, having delivered only political resolutions, not solutions, for the American people.

In fact, my Republican colleagues are so eager to campaign, they are starting the August recess a week early and rushing to the floor with this press release disguised as a resolution before they head for the exits.

Let's make no mistake: This resolution is only before this body because Vice President Harris will be the Democratic nominee for President.

Testing new campaign messaging, though, is not a good use of the House's time, yet that is all this resolution offers. It changes absolutely nothing. It does not even pretend to change anything.

I am sure the American people would rather us use our time to fund the government, but my Republican colleagues can't seem to agree among themselves about that.

Instead, here we are, debating H. Res. 1371, a second-rate attempt at election interference. Perhaps it is also an ethics violation since my Republican colleagues are blatantly using House resources for campaign purposes, and like so much other campaign literature, this political resolution is premised on falsehoods and supported by cherry-picked statistics.

The resolution would have you believe President Biden and Vice President Harris inherited an impenetrable southern border from the former administration. This is just not true. The cruel and inhumane policies of the

Trump administration did not deter irregular migration.

It took a worldwide shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to temporarily reduce the ever-increasing numbers of desperate people seeking freedom, safety, and opportunity in the United States. When global pandemic-era restrictions eased, worldwide migration increased. The United States is far from alone in facing this challenge.

When President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, they reversed terrible Trump-era policies that separated children from their parents and put children in cages.

The Biden-Harris administration has also increased enforcement, deployed more border surveillance equipment, and sped up immigration processing. The administration is removing and returning more people and implementing tough new policies that have cut the number of border crossers by more than half over the last 7 weeks alone.

Vice President Harris, in particular, has worked to address the root causes of migration, especially from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Improving conditions in Northern Triangle countries means fewer people feel compelled to make the journey to the U.S.

We have seen results. Since Vice President Harris was given this task, Customs and Border Protection's encounters with Central American migrants have declined by more than 70 percent.

Furthermore, under Vice President Harris' leadership, the administration has also reinforced partnerships with countries in the region, and even around the world, to increase enforcement and share information.

Mexico, for the first time ever, has agreed to accept the return of Venezuelans and Cubans. Under the former President, we struggled to remove migrants from these countries from the United States.

There are also more visa requirements to enter the Western Hemisphere now, making the journey that much more difficult. This administration has recognized that migration is no longer regional but global and has taken action.

Mr. Speaker, you will notice that nowhere in my remarks have I referred to the Vice President as a so-called border czar like this flawed resolution does. That is because such a position does not exist.

The authors of this resolution cannot point to a single administration document that names the Vice President the ``border czar.'' That is because such documents do not exist.

Even news organizations, like Axios, that referred to Vice President Harris as a so-called border czar have posted corrections and clarifications. That is because border czar is simply not her role.

I would like to read from President Biden's March 2021 remarks describing Vice President Harris' duties. ``The Vice President has agreed, among the multiple other things that I have her leading--and I appreciate it--agreed to lead our diplomatic effort and work with those nations to accept the returnees and enhanced migration enforcement at their borders.''

The Vice President's role is diplomatic. It is about leading partnerships with foreign countries. It is not about overseeing the Border Patrol or ICE. That is Secretary Mayorkas' job, and he said as much in testimony before the Homeland Security Committee.

The border czar title is a work of fiction created by overactive Republican imaginations and the media, and this resolution is premised on that fiction.

Furthermore, this resolution is incredibly petty because Republicans struggle to quick squeeze anything of substance into it. It criticizes the Vice President, who was directed to focus on diplomatic engagements, for waiting 3 months to visit the southern border. Republicans then take issue with where she chose to go along the southern border. Vice President Harris went to Texas, just not the part of Texas Republicans thought she should go.

The resolution also criticizes the Vice President for failing to make direct outreach to U.S. Border Patrol chiefs. Again, she was not tasked with overseeing the Border Patrol. Secretary Mayorkas, their actual boss, speaks to the U.S. Border Patrol regularly.

Furthermore, H. Res. 1371 only includes border encounter statistics through May of this year, conveniently failing to include a nearly 30 percent decrease in encounters between ports of entry in June.

The resolution also conveniently fails to mention that since early last month, DHS has removed or returned more than 65,000 border crossers to more than 125 countries. In the past year, DHS has removed or returned the most people since 2010. That includes more removals to countries other than Mexico than in any other prior year ever.

Mr. Speaker, the House has better things to do than adopt pointless, false, and politically driven, nonbinding resolutions. Perhaps, for example, it could legislate on border security in a bipartisan fashion as the Senate tried to do; that is, before former President Trump told his MAGA allies to run away from the negotiating table so he could run on border security on the campaign trail.

As much as my Republican colleagues talk about the threats from our border, they don't want to seem to do anything about it. Taking action is bad politics for them, so we get political resolutions rather than solutions.

In fact, under Republican control, the 118th Congress has little to show for itself. Indeed, it is among the least productive in history. Maybe House Republicans are simply biding their time because they think they can implement their Project 2025 agenda next year.

This do-nothing resolution is out to test-drive political talking points rather than change the sorry trajectory of this do-nothing Congress.

Before I reserve, Mr. Speaker, I want to note that this is the first time the Homeland Security Committee has come to the floor since the passing of my dear friend, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who was a senior member of the committee. Congresswoman Jackson Lee cared passionately about border security and a humane immigration system that reflected American values. We will miss her bold, distinctive voice during today's debate, which we all know that she would have participated in with trademark tenacity.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this thinly veiled attempt as a political attack, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Washington.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Goldman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Barragan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from California.

Mr. Speaker, if my Republican colleagues are worried about migrant children, I encourage them to look at policy solutions and to engage on a bipartisan bill, such as the Senate bipartisan border bill, where we can make real change. I encourage the majority to support this administration's effort to crack down on the employers who take advantage of these children.

I encourage Republicans to take real action. This partisan resolution achieves nothing.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Ramirez).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Illinois.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution is a last-ditch, unserious effort by extreme MAGA Republicans to scapegoat Vice President Harris for longstanding challenges at the border.

H. Res. 1371 is premised on the false claim that the Vice President was made a ``border czar,'' a fake title made up by Republicans and the media. This is a political stunt on the American taxpayers' dime. I wish they would put the same effort into immigration reform or passing budget bills.

Let me reiterate: This resolution does absolutely nothing to improve the quality of life for Americans. If Republicans truly saw the challenges at the border as a crisis, they would have worked with Democrats on the bipartisan Senate border legislation, but

they abandoned the bipartisan bill to please their Presidential candidate who wanted a campaign issue instead.

We get political resolutions rather than solutions. The American people deserve better.

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

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a July 23 article from CBS News stating that the ``border czar'' title is incorrect and the Vice President's work is often mischaracterized.

Notably, the article includes the following quote: ``Harris was not asked to be the administration's `border czar' or to oversee immigration policy and enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border.''

[From CBS News, July 23, 2024]

The Facts About Kamala Harris' Role on Immigration in the Biden

Administration

(By Camilo Montoya-Galvez)

Following President Biden's decision to abandon his

reelection campaign and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris

to be the Democratic nominee for president, Harris' role on

immigration has come under scrutiny.

Soon after Mr. Biden's announcement, Republicans sought to

blame Harris for the Biden administration's woes at the U.S.-

Mexico border, where American officials have reported record

levels of illegal crossings in the past three years. In a

phone conversation with CBS News on Saturday, former

President Donald Trump said Harris presided over the ``worst

border ever'' as ``border czar,'' a title her Republican

detractors often give her.

Harris is all but certain to face even more criticism over

the Biden administration's record on immigration, one of

American voters' top concerns ahead of the election. And

Harris does have an immigration-related role in the Biden

White House, but her responsibilities on the issue are often

mischaracterized.

What exactly is Harris' immigration role?

In March 2021, when the Biden administration faced the

early stages of an influx in illega1 crossings at the U.S.

southern border, Mr. Biden tasked Harris with leading the

administration's diplomatic campaign to address the ``root

causes'' of migration from Guatemala, Honduras and El

Salvador, including poverty, corruption and violence.

The region, known as Central America's Northern Triangle,

has been one of the main sources of migration to the U.S.-

Mexico border over the past decade.

Harris was not asked to be the administration's ``border

czar'' or to oversee immigration policy and enforcement at

the U.S.-Mexico border. That has mainly been the

responsibility of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro

Mayorkas and his department, which oversees the country's

main three immigration agencies, including Customs and Border

Protection.

In reality, the only role close to that of a ``border

czar'' under the Biden administration was held for only a few

months by Roberta Jacobson, a longtime diplomat who served as

coordinator for the Southwest border until April 2021.

In her immigration role, Harris' main line of work has

focused on convincing companies to invest in Central America

and promoting democracy and development there through

diplomacy. In March of this year, the White House announced

Harris had secured a commitment from the private sector to

invest over $5 billion to promote economic opportunities and

reduce violence in the region.

Efforts to reduce migration by improving conditions in

migrants' home countries have always been viewed as a long-

term strategy by U.S. officials. In its ``root causes''

framework, the Biden administration conceded the ``systemic

change'' it envisions for Central America ``will take time to

achieve.''

Questions about her work on immigration

There are some legitimate questions about Harris' work on

immigration.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most non-Mexican migration to

the U.S. southern border originated from the Northern

Triangle. In 2021, it made sense for the administration to

focus on the root cases of migration in those countries. But

migration flows have changed dramatically in recent years.

Record numbers of migrants have been coming from places

outside of Central America, including from countries like

Cuba, Colombia, China, Ecuador and Venezuela.

In fiscal year 2023, for example, Border Patrol

apprehensions of migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El

Salvador made up 22 percent of all crossings during that time

period, down from 41 percent in fiscal year 2021, government

statistics show. On the flip side, however, the

administration could point to the fact that illegal crossings

along the U.S. southern border by migrants from Guatemala,

Honduras and El Salvador have decreased significantly every

year since 2021.

While most of her critics have been Republicans, Harris'

work on immigration has also garnered some criticism from the

left. During a visit to Guatemala in June 2021, Harris told

those intending to migrate, ``Do not come,'' a statement that

drew ire from some progressives and advocates for migrants.

As the second-highest ranking member of the Biden

administration, Harris will also likely face questions over

the all-time levels of unlawful border crossings reported in

2021, 2022 and 2023. Those crossings, however, have plunged

this year, reaching a three-year low in June, after Mr. Biden

issued an executive order banning most migrants from asylum.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a July 19 article from CBS News stating that the number of migrants unlawfully crossing the southern border has continued to drop dramatically in July, thanks to Biden-Harris administration policies.

Notably, the article includes the following quote: ``July is on track to see the fifth consecutive monthly drop in migrant apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border and the lowest level in illegal immigration there since the fall of 2020, during the Trump administration. . .''.

[From CBS News, July 19, 2024]

Migrant Crossings Continue to Plunge, Nearing the Level That Would Lift

Biden's Border Crackdown

(By Camilo Montoya-Galvez)

The number of migrants unlawfully crossing the U.S.

southern border has continued to drop markedly in July,

nearing a threshold that would require officials to lift a

partial ban on asylum claims enacted by President Biden,

according to internal government data obtained by CBS News.

July is on track to see the fifth consecutive monthly drop

in migrant apprehensions along the U.S.-Mexico border and the

lowest level in illegal immigration there since the fall of

2020, during the Trump administration, the internal

Department of Homeland Security figures show.

In early June, President Biden invoked a far-reaching

presidential authority to suspend the entry of most migrants

entering the U.S. illegally, effectively shutting off access

to the American asylum system outside of official ports of

entry.

Illegal border crossings--which were already falling before

Mr. Biden's action--plunged further after the order took

effect, reaching a three-year low in June.

Illegal crossings along U.S. southern border over the past year

The numbers denote Border Patrol apprehensions of migrants

who entered the U.S. between official ports of entry along

the southern border.

But the DHS regulation implementing Mr. Biden's

proclamation stipulated that the asylum crackdown would be

lifted if the 7-day average of daily migrant apprehensions

between ports of entry fell to 1,500.

In the past week, the average of daily illegal crossings

counted in the regulation's calculations reached roughly

1,650, according to the internal DHS figures. Those

calculations, as dictated by the regulation, exclude

crossings by unaccompanied children who are not

from Mexico. Those children are typically housed in

government-run shelters until they turn 18 or are placed with

a U.S.-based sponsor, as mandated by a 2008 antitrafficking

law.

If the 7-day average of daily illegal crossings dips to

1,500, the regulation says, Mr. Biden's asylum proclamation

would be ``discontinued 14 days after'' Homeland Security

Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas makes a ``factual

determination'' about the threshold being reached.

``The Departments have determined that the 1,500-encounter

threshold is a reasonable proxy for when the border security

and immigration system is no longer over capacity and the

measures adopted in this rule are not necessary to deal with

such circumstances,'' the regulation says.

Asylum limits could remain in place

While illegal border crossings are nearing the 1,500

deactivation threshold, it's possible that they may remain

above that number, keeping the partial asylum ban in place.

And even if the 1,500 trigger is reached, Mr. Biden's

proclamation would be reinstated if the 7-day average of

daily illegal crossings were to rebound to 2,500.

A senior U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official

said the agency does not expect the partial ban on asylum

requests to be deactivated imminently, noting that illegal

crossings appear to be plateauing.

``We're not in a place yet where we're a day . . . or days

away from being below 1,500,'' the official told CBS News.

But the official acknowledged that reaching the 1,500

trigger is possible and confirmed there's been internal

planning and preparations for that eventuality.

If Mr. Biden's proclamation is suspended, the official

said, CBP would still strive to place migrants in expedited

deportation proceedings, instead of releasing them with

notices to appear in immigration court. Another Biden

administration asylum restriction that applies to those who

don't seek refuge in third countries before crossing into the

U.S. would also remain in place.

``Noncitizens who enter the United States between ports of

entry and do not have a legal basis to remain in the United

States continue to be swiftly removed,'' DHS spokesperson

Erin Heeter said in a statement.

A dramatic change at the border

With an overall average of roughly 1,800 daily migrant

apprehensions so far in July, Border Patrol is on pace to

record fewer than 60,000 migrant apprehensions this month,

the lowest level since September 2020, according to

unpublished DHS data. That average, unlike the one used in

the asylum regulation's calculations, includes all

unaccompanied children.

The current situation at the southern border represents a

dramatic change from just late last year, when illegal

crossings rose to a quarter of a million in December, an all-

time monthly high. After that record-breaking influx, the

Mexican government, at the request of U.S. officials, ramped

up operations to stop migrants from reaching American soil.

Immigration experts credited the Mexican government's

migration crackdown with playing a key role in the sustained

drop in migrant crossings recorded by American officials this

year. Temperatures in the southern U.S. have also soared in

the summer, making the migration journey even more perilous.

But U.S. officials said Mr. Biden's move to partially shut

down asylum processing has led to a more acute drop in

unlawful crossings. Because it makes it easier for U.S.

officials to deport more migrants, the proclamation has

sharply reduced the releases that authorities view as a

factor that encourages migration.

Still, not everyone is being deported quickly. Some groups,

such as unaccompanied children, medically vulnerable migrants

and those who secure appointments to be processed at legal

entry points, are exempt from the partial asylum ban. Some

migrants who are disqualified from asylum under the policy

are also still allowed to stay because the U.S. does not

carry out regular deportations to their home countries due to

diplomatic and logistical constraints.

Progressive advocacy groups have strongly decried Mr.

Biden's asylum crackdown, and the American Civil Liberties

Union is arguing in federal court that the policy violates

U.S. and international refugee law.

Theresa Cardinal Brown, a senior adviser at the Bipartisan

Policy Center and a former government immigration official

under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, said the

legality of Mr. Biden's actions are ``still an outstanding

question.'' But she said the drop in releases under the

policy is affecting migrants' decisions, at least in the

short-term.

``When a sufficient number, it doesn't necessarily have to

be everybody, but a sufficient number of people are not

allowed to come in, to wait and succeed in coming in, that

does send a signal back,'' she said.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a fact sheet released by the Department of Homeland Security this morning that shows President Biden's Presidential Proclamation to temporarily suspend the entry of certain noncitizens across the southern border has helped reduce the number of encounters at out our Southwest Border by 55 percent.

[From the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, July 24, 2024]

FACT SHEET: President Biden's Presidential Proclamation and Joint DHS- DOJ Interim Final Rule Cut Encounters at Southwest Border by 55 Percent

The Presidential Proclamation issued by President Biden to

temporarily suspend the entry of certain noncitizens across

the southern border--including the southwest land and

southern coastal borders--and the complementary joint interim

final rule (IFR) issued by DHS DOJ have now been in effect

for seven weeks, helping reduce the number of encounters at

our Southwest Border by 55 percent. The Border Patrol's 7-day

average has decreased to below 1,800 encounters per day. In

June, the Border Patrol recorded 83,536 encounters between

ports of entry, the lowest number since January 2021, and

below the number of encounters between ports of entry in June

2019, the last comparable year prior to the pandemic.

While the President's action has led to significant

results, our nation's immigration system requires

Congressional action to provide needed resources and

additional authorities. Twice now, Congress has failed to

pass the bipartisan border security agreement negotiated in

the U.S. Senate, which would provide the critical personnel

and funding needed to further secure our Southern border. The

agreement would have added 1,500 U.S. Customs and Border

Protection (CBP) Agents and Officers, added 1,200 U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel, 4,300

asylum officers, invested in technology to catch illegal

fentanyl, and delivered sweeping reforms to the asylum

system. Congress must still act.

While the Proclamation and IFR have been in effect:

DHS has removed and returned more than 65,000 individuals

to more than 125 countries, including by operating more than

200 international repatriation flights.

DHS has doubled the percentage of noncitizens processed

through Expedited Removal while in CBP or ICE custody.

Expedited Removal processing was already at record levels

prior to the Proclamation.

DHS has decreased the number of people released pending

their removal proceedings by 70

We continue to implement recently announced measures

(https://www.ice.gov/news/release/ice-announces-ongoing-work- optimize-enforcement-resources) to increase the overall

capacity of enforcement resources--including repatriation

flights and detention capacity. ICE is optimizing air charter

contracts to maximize the number of repatriation flights

operated each week.

Over the last year, the agency has removed individuals to a

range of South American and Eastern Hemisphere countries,

including Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Egypt, Mauritania,

Senegal, Uzbekistan, and India, and in the last few weeks,

DHS conducted a removal flight to the People's Republic of

China (PRC). Efforts to expand the number of removal flights

continue with the expectation of additional flights added to

the schedule in the coming weeks.

Under the terms of the IFR, the limitation on asylum

eligibility will be discontinued when encounters fall below

certain levels but will come back into effect if encounters

rise again. The Proclamation and IFR enable DHS to quickly

remove those without a legal basis to remain, strengthening

enforcement consequences for those who fail to use lawful

pathways to come to the United States. For more information

on how the Proclamation and IFR work, visit the following

links:

Fact Sheet: President Biden's Presidential Proclamation and

Joint DHS-DOJ Interim Final Rule Cut Encounters at Southwest

Border by Over 40 Percent in First Three Weeks (https:/-

www.dhs.gov/news/2024/06/25/fact-sheet-president-bidens- presidential-proclamation-and-joint-dhs-doj-interim)

Fact Sheet: Presidential Proclamation to Suspend and Limit

Entry and Joint DHS-DOJ Interim Final Rule to Restrict Asylum

During High Encounters at the Southern Border (https:// www.dhs.gov/news/2024/06/04/fact-sheet-presidential- proclamation-suspend-and-limit-entry-and-joint-dhs-doi)

Individuals continue to be eligible for asylum, including

individuals who use the CBP OneTM mobile app's

appointment scheduling function. CBP makes 1,450 appointments

available per day at eight land ports of entry via this

functionality. Use of the app requires those seeking an

appointment to submit vital information in advance, improving

DHS's ability to conduct screening and vetting. CBP One is

just one example of how this Administration has carried out

the largest expansion of lawful pathways and orderly

processes in decades.

The majority of all Southwest border encounters during the

past three fiscal years resulted in a removal, return, or

expulsion. DHS removed or returned over 740,000 individuals

in the 12 months after the end of the Title 42 public health

Order, more than any year since 2010. That included more

removals to countries other than Mexico than in any prior

year ever.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a July 22 ``analysis'' article from the right-wing Wall Street Journal stating that the Vice President's role was narrow--and also successful.

Notably, the article includes the following quote: ``Harris's job was meant to be narrow, and over the years Harris has fulfilled it by announcing tranches of private investments.''

[From WSJ, July 22, 2024]

Analysis: Was Kamala Harris Actually Biden's `Border Czar'?

(By Michelle Hackman)

Even before Kamala Harris became the Democrats' likely

challenger to Donald Trump, Republicans have used her

immigration portfolio as a line of attack against her--

calling her President Biden's ``border czar.'' But Harris's

task, assigned to her in 2021 by Biden, was actually much

narrower.

At the start of his presidency, Biden tasked his VP with

what the administration called the ``root causes'' of

migration from Central America--the extreme poverty, famine

and gang violence that have driven so many people over the

last decade to uproot their lives and head north to the U.S.

Former President Barack Obama had asked Biden to take on

the same task when he was vice president. Biden successfully

pushed Congress to allot several billion in aid money for

Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras.

Harris's job was meant to be narrow, and over the years

Harris has fulfilled it by announcing tranches of private

investments by companies like Pepsi, Cargill and Nestle in

Central America.

But the assignment gave Republicans a convenient scapegoat

as illegal crossings at the southern border climbed. Days

after the announcement of her assignment, House Republicans

appeared at a press conference brandishing a sign reading,

``missing at the border: Vice President Kamala Harris.''

On Monday, the RNC tweeted a video purporting to show the

moment Biden anointed Harris ``border czar.'' In the video,

Biden says he is asking Harris ``to lead our efforts with

Mexico and the Northern Triangle, the countries that need

help in stemming a movement of so many folks, of stemming the

migration to our southern border.''

Mr. Thompson of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record an April 5 ``fact check'' article from the Washington Post giving four Pinocchios to the favorite Republican claim that the Biden administration ``flew at least 400,000 illegal immigrants into the country.''

Notably, the article states that Republicans are Quote: ``peddling a blatant falsehood her'' Unquote.

[From the Washington Post, April 5, 2024]

Taxpayer Dollars Being Used to Fly `Illegal Aliens' Into U.S.? Nope.

(By Glenn Kessler)

``Do you support American taxpayer dollars being used to

fly illegal immigrants from countries like Venezuela and

Haiti into America to be settled in cities and towns near

you? If so, then vote against me. Vote no to preserve this

practice of using taxpayer dollars to charter planes that

move and import thousands of illegal aliens into your

states.?

Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), in a speech on the Senate

floor, March 23:

``Have you had to cancel or rethink any upcoming summer

trips because of high prices? Don't worry--your taxpayer

dollars will be used to pay for illegal immigrants to fly

into a town near you.''

Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), chair of the House Homeland

Security Committee, in a post on X, April 2:

Two lawmakers from Tennessee have issued misleading

statements about a Biden administration program that

permitted an increased use of a process known as humanitarian

parole for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and

Venezuela. Hagerty offered an amendment to a spending bill--

defeated in a party-line vote--that he said would prevent

taxpayer dollars from being used to fly in migrants. Green,

on X, posted a Fox News article--headlined ``All Senate Dems

vote against barring taxpayer funds to fly illegal migrants

to U.S. towns''--and made a similar claim.

Under the Biden program, people from these countries who

try to cross the border without the proper paperwork are

ineligible for parole and subject to expulsion. Instead,

before arriving, they must receive authorization to travel to

the United States and a statement of financial support from a

sponsor.

As of the end of February, the Department of Homeland

Security says, more than 386,000 people from those countries

had arrived lawfully in the United States and another 19,000

were vetted and authorized to travel. In other words, they

are not in the country illegally, despite the rhetoric in the

statements.

And beyond the question of whether these immigrants are

``illegal,'' if You listen to Hagerty and Green, U.S.

taxpayers are footing the bill for their travel. That's

wrong.

the Facts

The website for the program makes clear that people

applying for humanitarian parole must pay for their tickets.

Under a list of requirements, one is: ``Provide for their own

commercial travel to an air U.S. port of entry and final U.S.

destination.''

When we asked spokespeople for Hagerty and Green, we

received different answers about why they said taxpayers'

dollars were involved. Neither is convincing.

Hagerty's staff said he was referring not to plane tickets,

but to the fact that the program was created and administered

with taxpayer dollars. His amendment said ``no funds

appropriated by this Act may be used to facilitate, provide,

or purchase air transportation from a foreign country to the

United States''--so ``facilitate'' is the operative word

here.

But the arm of the DHS that administers the program--U.S.

Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)--is 96 percent

funded by fees paid by people seeking to come to the United

States. For instance, people in the parole program must pay

as much as $520 to file an application for work

authorization.

Moreover, parole applications (now totaling about 400,000)

make up an even smaller part of the nearly 10 million

applications handled by USCIS each year, so the number of

people handling the applications would be an infinitesimal

part of the USCIS workforce. On top of that, the salaries of

these workers are funded by fees, not congressional

appropriations (``taxpayer dollars'').

In any case, as we noted, people approved for the program

must book and pay for their own flights to come to the United

States. There aren't any charter flights, despite what

Hagerty said.

Green's staff offered a different explanation--that he was

referring to nongovernmental organizations being reimbursed

for transportation costs through the Shelter and Services

Program (SSP), run by the Federal Emergency Management

Agency, another arm of the DHS. But this is also off base.

The SSP is focused on helping pay the costs for people who

cross the border between ports of entry, such as with the

help of smugglers, and find themselves abandoned in the

middle of a desert. The recipients are mainly border cities

and charities that assist these undocumented immigrants with

food, shelter and transportation. But people in the parole

program arrive with authorization and a confirmed financial

sponsor. In fact, the Biden administration created the parole

program to reduce unauthorized border crossings that have

burdened border facilities.

So the only way SSP dollars would be used by someone in the

parole program is if a disaster happened and this person

found themselves in a shelter that received some funding from

the SSP--a highly unlikely prospect.

the Pinocchio Test

Hagerty and Green are peddling a blatant falsehood here--

that the Biden administration is paying for the flights of

migrants from four countries in the parole program. In

reality, the migrants must pay their own way. When

challenged, their offices resorted to alternative

explanations about the use of taxpayer dollars that strain

credulity.

Four Pinocchios

The Fact Checker is a verified signatory to the

International Fact-Checking Network code of principles.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1376, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 1371) strongly condemning the Biden Administration and its Border Czar, Kamala Harris's, failure to secure the United States border, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 1371.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, on March 24, 2021, President Joe Biden announced to the American people that he tasked Vice President Kamala Harris to ``lead our efforts'' to address the ``root causes'' of the border by working with Mexico and Central America to stem the flow of illegal border crossings at the Southwest border.

However, since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office, CBP has recorded more than 9.6 million encounters nationwide, and this number continues to rapidly increase.

Over 200,000 Americans have died from the fentanyl flooding across our open border. Precious lives like those of Laken Riley, Rachel Morin, and Jocelyn Nungaray have been brutally taken by illegal aliens who have been released.

We have been told that Vice President Harris' job was to find the root causes of the crisis. Turns out to do so, she could have just looked in the mirror.

Now, it would be charitable to say that Vice President Harris is completely out of her depth when it comes to securing the border. The fact is, she has a long track record of opposing border security and immigration enforcement, whether as a Senator, a Presidential candidate, or as Joe Biden's ``border czar.''

For example, then-Senator Harris advocated abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She proudly boasted that she would introduce legislation to reduce the number of ICE detention beds, and she also advocated for doing away with private detention facilities. She called construction of the new border wall system ``a stupid use of money.'' She opposed the use of title 42 during the COVID-19 pandemic. She even once compared ICE to the KKK.

In her short-lived campaign for President in 2019, Vice President Harris declared during one debate that she supported decriminalizing illegal border crossings. According to her campaign website, longstanding, bipartisan border security policies were ``cruel and out of control.''

As Vice President, her track record has been just as dismal. Let's first recognize that many of the very policies she supported as a Senator, including cutting ICE beds, ending border wall construction, and ending title 42, became a reality after she took office.

Further, despite being President Biden's border czar, after saying border visits were just grand gestures, she has only made one trip to the Southwest border, all the way back in June 2021, in what Texas Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar called a politically safe, check-the-box visit. She has not been back since.

Just this week, it was reported that she has never spoken with current Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens or his predecessor, Chief Raul Ortiz. This belies absolute dereliction of her responsibility to secure the border.

This longtime extremist has run point on ending the Biden administration's self-inflicted border crisis, and it shows.

Vice President Harris has also lied to the American people repeatedly about the crisis she helped to create. In June 2022, she falsely claimed on national television: ``The border is secure. . . . We have a secure border, in that that is a priority for any nation, including ours, and our administration.'' She also helped spread the vicious lies about mounted Border Patrol agents in Del Rio, Texas, slandering and maligning them for just doing their jobs.

Now, given how bad the border is for them politically, our friends on the left are suddenly aghast that we are again referring to the Vice President as the border czar. However, back in March 2021, even the corporate media were describing her role with this title, which, as we all remember from the Obama years, simply means a government official tasked with the responsibility for a particular policy issue.

Now that Vice President Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee for President, we have watched our colleagues on the other side of the aisle get defensive about it because they know they cannot possibly defend her disastrous handling of the border crisis she was supposed to end.

Vice President Harris is an extreme, dishonest, open-borders radical. That is why President Biden entrusted her with this role. She owns all of his failed border policies and the horrific consequences that have resulted from them. Americans know it, and I am glad that this Congress will acknowledge it, too.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Stefanik), the esteemed Republican Conference Chair and the author of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Moran).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. De La Cruz).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Yakym).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gimenez).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Van Duyne).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Greene).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as we conclude this debate, I will quote the Vice President one more time.

In 2015, she said: ``An undocumented immigrant is not a criminal.''

Well, actually, under title 8 of the United States Code, illegally crossing the southwest border is a Federal misdemeanor with up to 6 months in prison as the penalty for a first offense and a felony for repeated offenses.

Vice President Harris brought that mentality to her role as border czar. What we have witnessed today from congressional Democrats confirms that they know it. They have demonstrated that they have no concrete defense for the Biden administration or Vice President Harris' disastrous handling of the unprecedented border crisis, which the Vice President was supposed to help resolve.

They are more upset about colloquial titles for the Vice President than the deadly chaos she has blatantly ignored. They think 1 month of slightly less disastrous border crossing numbers compared to the numbers of the past 3\1/2\ years is their get-out-of-jail-free card on this issue.

The American people are not so easily fooled, however. It is time to pass H. Res. 1371 to call out Vice President Harris' abysmal failure and for the Senate to move on the mountain of border security bills we have sent them this Congress as well.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to condemn Vice President Kamala Harris for her failed and dangerous policies as Joe Biden's border czar that caused the most catastrophic border crisis in modern history.

No matter what congressional district you go to, the number one issue facing Americans is Kamala Harris' open-border crisis. By every metric, Kamala Harris has failed to secure our borders and has been instead advancing far-left Democrats' failed open-border policies and the needs of illegal immigrants over the safety of Americans.

This resolution condemns Kamala Harris' role as Joe Biden's open- border czar and affirms that the American people deserve elected officials who understand the gravity of the crisis at the border and who will work to secure the border.

Now, Democrats will try to run from this record, but they cannot hide. Joe Biden's open-border czar Kamala Harris, and every elected Democrat, is responsible for this border crisis, along with every other aspect of Joe Biden's failed and feckless record which brought not only the border crisis but skyrocketing Bidenflation, surging violent crimes, chaos, and weakness around the world.

We all remember the widely publicized delegation that Vice President Kamala Harris conducted and led, saying: ``Do not come. Do not come.'' Millions of illegals poured into our country since then because of Kamala Harris' and Joe Biden's administration's unconstitutional, illegal executive actions wiping away President Trump's effective border security policies which created the most secure border in modern history. The American people know that.

In fact, just last month, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced there were over 130,000 illegal immigrant encounters at our southern border in June. This is roughly 4,300 illegal encounters at our southern border a day, which is four times more than the definition of a crisis set by Obama's DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson.

So far this fiscal year, there have been 93 individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watch list who were stopped trying to enter the U.S. illegally between ports of entry at the southern border. That is over 500 since Kamala Harris was assigned the border-czar role.

On our northern border, in the Swanton Sector, which I represent, I have seen firsthand, with the Border Patrol, the disastrous consequences of Kamala Harris' and Joe Biden's administration's failed, far-left open-border agenda which caused a historic surge in illegal crossings the likes of which we have never seen on our northern border before, including individuals on the terrorist watch list.

This is not just a national security crisis. It is a humanitarian crisis. Under Kamala Harris' role as Joe Biden's border czar, nearly 80,000 minors have been lost, left, slipped through the cracks. This is also part of the violent crime crisis surge concerning every single American.

Look in upstate New York. A 21-year-old, innocent girl was killed by an illegal and buried in a Syracuse public park and a 15-year-old, innocent girl was raped by an illegal in Albany County, all because of Kamala Harris' failed policies as open-border czar.

Make no mistake: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are to blame for this historic crisis. Their policies stopped the construction of the border wall, ended President Trump's remain in Mexico program, and released the largest number of illegals into the United States in history.

Since Kamala Harris became the open-border czar, monthly encounters have surpassed even the highest month under President Trump and the number of illegals released into the country have skyrocketed.

Former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz stated that during his 2 years in the position, he had never once spoken to Vice President Harris. Even worse, Vice President Harris has never even spoken with the current Border Patrol chief since he was appointed in July of 2023. This is unacceptable.

The American people have had enough. They know that the only way to fix this historic crisis is by returning to President Trump's effective border security policies. That is why House Republicans passed H.R. 2, the strongest border security bill in history, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, that will put an end to this catastrophic border crisis caused by Joe Biden and his open-border czar, Kamala Harris.

Kamala Harris has failed in overseeing American safety by refusing to secure the border. She has proved that she is unfit to lead, and I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this resolution.

Here we go again. The Republican majority made their appropriations bills so extreme that they can't pass the vast majority of them with votes from their own party. Instead, we are going to come here to the floor and waste our time as they politicize the work that we are doing here in Congress and use this time to attack the Vice President.

They can't pursue their impeachment claims, their fake impeachment claims of Joe Biden, or any other number of people that they have targeted, because Joe Biden is no longer running for President. Now, they have got to quickly shift and instead use their time on this floor, where we are supposed to be doing official business, to attack Vice President Harris days after she is clearly going to be our Democratic nominee for President.

Kamala Harris was never the border czar. She was never asked to address the situation at the border. She was asked to do something that MAGA extremists, who want quick fixes that they can give to FOX News, never want to focus on, and that is a real solution.

She was narrowly tasked with developing agreements that could help bring government and private-sector investments to those countries that are sending migrants to the United States, so that those countries could help strengthen the conditions in those countries. She did so, most significantly in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

She brought in billions from private-sector investments to support government funding for entrepreneurs, to ensure labor rights, to strengthen food security, and launch projects across those countries that invested in financial inclusion, healthcare, climate finance, and affordable housing. Those are the things that will keep migrants in their home countries.

The only reason that Republicans are doing this today is to distract the American people from the fact that they still can't get anything done here on the House floor that will actually benefit the American people. It is no wonder. The leader of their party has been convicted on 34 felony counts and has a Trump Project 2025 agenda that will take total control over people's lives.

That agenda includes plans for mass deportations, including spouses and children of U.S. citizens, Dreamers, and essential workers and farm workers.

Let's not forget that roughly 22 million people in America live in mixed-status families where at least one person is undocumented. When Donald Trump and Republicans are talking about mass deportations, they are talking about tearing apart American families.

It doesn't end there. Trump's Project 2025 calls for the end of protections for Dreamers and family-based immigration. Attacking family unity comes as no surprise from the party that cruelly tore over 5,000 kids from their moms and dads. Trump's Project 2025 also eliminates due process in the immigration system. It would deny people their day in court to make their case for protection under U.S. laws. Republicans have made it clear over and over again that they do not want to modernize our immigration system.

Even the bill that was written by the second-most conservative Republican Senator in the U.S. Senate, Trump told them not to vote for it, so they didn't because they wanted to keep it out there as an election issue.

Mr. Speaker, Republicans want to distract you from the fact that the Biden-Harris administration has been the most effective administration in my lifetime, investing in infrastructure and green jobs, taking on climate change, bringing down the cost of prescription drugs, and canceling student loan debt so people have more money in their pockets instead of allowing billionaires to profit off your pain.

Just today we heard that the economy grew by 2.8 percent in the second quarter showing extraordinary strength because of the policies that President Biden and Vice President Harris have put into place for this country.

Don't be distracted, Mr. Speaker. Democrats want to protect your freedoms, uphold democracy, and give every American a real chance to succeed.

Vote ``no'' on this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to offer support for H. Res. 1371, Strongly Condemning the Biden Administration and Its Border Czar, Kamala Harris's, Failure to Secure the United States Southern Border, and in fact, all of our borders.

This administration's failure to secure the border has been so significant, so catastrophic, that Congress must use its power to provide accountability.

On day one, the Biden-Harris administration issued 64 executive orders to open the border to human traffickers, terrorists, and foreign adversaries.

In fact, over 300 known or suspected terrorists have crossed the border illegally that we know about and 50 migrants with ties to ISIS are currently on the loose inside the United States.

What are we hearing from our colleagues on the other side of the aisle with regards to that? Don't they care? They don't want to do anything about it. They just want to defend an open-border policy because that is what they are doing.

The American people are paying the real cost of this border crisis. It is people like Laken Riley, like Jocelyn Nungaray, like Rachel Morin, who were assaulted and killed by violent criminals who crossed the southern border illegally.

I have even lost constituents in my own district to this border crisis. The Tambunga family lost 78-year-old Maria and 7-year-old Emilia to a human trafficker who was here illegally, evading law enforcement, doing over 100 miles an hour.

What is being done? Where is the compassion that I just heard from my colleague toward that family?

Law and order is compassionate. Americans deserve accountability for this crisis that has wreaked havoc on our communities.

Unfortunately, Vice President Harris does not take it seriously, has not done anything positively to shut down the border, to restore law and order, and her complacency and complete disregard to secure the border is unprecedented.

This isn't about politics. In fact, for the first 2 years of the administration, we didn't have a single hearing on border security, not a single one, on the Committee of Homeland Security.

This resolution simply calls for accountability. How many more hearings do we have to have under our current chairman to call for accountability on this because our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are not willing to actually call out President Biden and Vice President Harris? How many more times do we have to call out for help in our communities?

This was led by the border czar. This open-border policy was led by the border czar, and it doesn't matter what we hear, it doesn't matter what excuses are said, and it doesn't matter what else is said from the other side of the aisle.

The facts are clear: 8\1/2\ million people plus have entered this country illegally, 300 plus on the terrorist watch list. Thousands of people who are associated with gangs, who are associated with criminal activities, and who are associated with delivering fentanyl that has killed over 100,000 people in this country.

I don't think it is funny. I personally don't think it is funny.

Mr. Speaker, I personally don't think it is funny. For those laughing on the other side of the aisle, shame on them. The Tambunga family deserves better in my district. In fact, every American deserves better.

How many more classified hearings, Mr. Speaker, are we going to have where the FBI comes in and where other intelligence agencies come in and say we have got a problem? How many more classified hearings are we going to have to have where they come into Congress to tell us that we have known and suspected terrorists inside our country?

The post-9/11 Commission said the system was flashing red. We need to wake up. The system is flashing red right now, and it is due to President Biden and Vice President Harris' inability to secure the border and do something to secure our country. Shame on those who won't stand up and do the right thing.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1371 and to bring accountability back to the southern border.