Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to speak in favor of H.R. 4070, the Tren de Aragua Border Security Threat Assessment Act.

I thank Chairman Guest and Chairman Garbarino for their support and leadership on the Homeland Security Committee from which this bill has originated.

Before Congress, I had the privilege to work in law enforcement. I saw firsthand the horrible effects, the dangerous effects, and the lasting effects that weak borders have had on our wonderful country. Of course, there are pressures on housing, healthcare, and education wherever there are millions and millions of illegal aliens allowed to come into the country and then placed throughout our country.

Of equal, if not greater, concern to me is the rampant growth and the effects of transnational criminal organizations that have grown throughout our country. This is perhaps best seen with Tren de Aragua.

Tren de Aragua has grown its presence throughout the United States. It is growing every day and includes growth in my home State of North Carolina. My legislation would require the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a comprehensive border threat assessment to identify the criminal threats posed by TdA members, the threats that are posed to our communities, and how exactly they are so successful in growing in our communities.

With this information, law enforcement and their intelligence counterparts will be better able to deploy a unified and focused strategy on how to appropriately dismantle and remove these threats from our country.

It is past time that we return to a posture of strength to defend America and our citizens. We must clearly and effectively send a message that the

United States will no longer be a safe harbor for violent foreign terrorist organizations like Tren de Aragua.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I have been very supportive of this effort, specifically to bring justice to the victims of this horrific series of crimes. However, I have worked behind the scenes to raise concerns with this petition as it is currently drafted.

Specifically, I believe that there is a grave risk of harming innocent people, and I repeat, harming innocent people. When innocent people are harmed, that is not furthering justice.

With an investigation of this size and a file that is as large as the Epstein files and as poorly defined as that is in this petition, there will invariably be people who are released, pursuant to this discharge petition, who had nothing to do with criminal activity. Imagine, if you will, a bellman, a waiter, some type of doorman, a mere social attendee who had no impact whatsoever on the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein, no participation. Their lives are forever ruined.

I am reading specifically from the petition's language that ``prohibited grounds for withholding'' information in this file are ``embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity.''

I would just submit that if you were going to be embarrassed, if you were going to suffer social harm, and that is all the encompassed activity that you were a part of, you will be named in this petition.

I resent that. Innocent people should not be harmed when we are pursuing justice.

I understand the political nature of this petition. I resent the fact that there was not room for good faith amendments, and I urge the Senate to protect innocent people.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 682, I call up the bill (H.R. 3486) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to increase penalties for individuals who illegally enter and reenter the United States after being removed, and for other purposes, 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 to include extraneous material on H.R. 3486.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to open remarks on this important legislation which holds a specific criminal category to account, specifically those who exploit weak border policies to bring crime into the United States.

I certainly feel that it is appropriate, before I begin my remarks, to note that today is the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, and in that same vein, Mr. Speaker, this proposed legislation profoundly enables law enforcement to protect us from all threats that seek to enter our country illegally.

Let me begin by commending Congresswoman Bice for partnering with me on this important issue.

As to the bill, Mr. Speaker, no matter the type or category, all crime is made worse by illegal immigration. Theft, assault, murder, drug trafficking, human trafficking, violent crime, and property crime, you name it, Mr. Speaker, illegal immigration makes it worse.

What is perhaps most unfortunate is that many of the worst offenders in this specific category return to the United States after being deported due to gaps in the current immigration law.

As a former U.S. prosecutor, I saw how deportation alone is insufficient to deter the committed illegal immigrant criminal. I have investigated, tried, and convicted many individuals who had been deported 2 times, 3 times, 4 times, and some even beyond 10 times. Yet, they continue to illegally return with the sole intent--the sole intent--to commit crime here in the United States.

The original version of this bill, Mr. Speaker, was drafted after a 32-year-old woman, an American woman, was tragically murdered by an illegal alien who had five felony convictions and had been deported multiple times from the United States. Tragically, her case is not an outlier. It has become far too common.

Under the current law, we must wait for a repeat felon, a recidivist illegal alien, to harm another American before we can effectively punish him or her for the crimes they seek to commit.

Enough is enough.

For any illegal immigrant who has demonstrated a clear and perverse disregard for our law, this bill shows that we will not wait for them to harm another American before we punish them. The act of returning after deportation is a serious crime, and it should denote serious consequences.

Further, if a person is here illegally, commissioning and being convicted of a felony is not a victimless crime. All felonies have a victim.

Enough is enough.

In the current state of the law, we must wait for an American to be harmed before significant punishments are issued to those who are here illegally. That is the core motivation of the changes being sought in this bill.

Candidly and specifically, if a person is here illegally with demonstrated criminal intent, that alone is sufficient to be punished meaningfully in this country.

Utilizing my own experience prosecuting this specific class of criminal, this bill implements the following commonsense provisions.

First, if any illegal alien is found guilty of a State or Federal felony, that alone qualifies the illegal alien for a new Federal charge that will bring a minimum of 5 years in Federal prison.

Secondly, rather than capping the sentence for illegally reentering-- again, this is not the first attempt--illegally reentering the country at 2 years in prison, which is, again, the current state of the law, the new maximum would become 10 years for all illegal reentries regardless of the criminal history that they have.

Thirdly, if an illegal alien is convicted of any felony and then deported, and that illegal alien attempts to enter the country illegally again, that will qualify the illegal alien for a new Federal charge that carries a minimum of 10 years and up to life in Federal prison.

I want to make it very clear that this bill does nothing to remove the current immigration authority. If a swift deportation is sought, it can be achieved. If apprehension for an underlying crime and prosecution is sought, that is within the discretion of law enforcement and the prosecutor. This merely adds new tools with which we can fight illegal immigrant criminals.

The premise of the bill, Mr. Speaker, begins with the reality that anyone who is in the country illegally is guilty of criminal conduct. However, what triggers the enhanced penalties is either illegal reentry--illegal reentry--after deportation or a felony conviction within the United States.

Let me be clear to preempt some of the concerns on the other side of the aisle. This bill adheres to strict and constitutionally protected due process, requiring a conviction in a court of law to trigger the enhanced penalties while leaving room for discretion as the prosecutor deems necessary.

Yes, we need the law. Yes, we need deportations. Yes, we need to remove those who are here illegally, especially those who have committed crimes that harm Americans. The President has shown that these steps are essential. However, from my firsthand experience, from my conversations with these criminals, and from the crime data that is all over this country, sophisticated criminal networks with vast resources extend their reach into America due to the open-border policies that the left seems so committed to.

It is only through maintaining the policies of this President and strengthening deterrence that we can ensure that illegal immigrant criminals do not continue to flood this country.

We must send a message to those around the world who want to come here to commit harm: Our tolerance for that activity is over.

With the tools in this bill, investigators and prosecutors will be better able to dismantle organized crime rings across America. Most importantly, they will employ an efficient deterrent to anybody who seeks to enter or reenter this country illegally.

It is time for the illegal immigrant criminals to know that we are finished tolerating their presence with the illegal activity that they engage in.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Harris).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Schmidt).

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice).

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

I will say that my friend from Maryland mentioned robbery, rape, and murder. This bill's goal is to apprehend dangerous criminals before they rob, rape, or murder Americans.

Secondly, and most importantly, referencing a farmworker, if they are here illegally and they do not commit a felony, this bill does not touch them. The only standard that this bill has: Do not come back into the country a second time illegally, and do not get convicted of a felony. How low do you think of the farmworkers that they cannot meet that standard?

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Kennedy).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Moore).

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

The issue with your characterization, sir, is number one, someone who enters illegally must be convicted of illegally entering the country. Then they must be convicted of illegally reentering the country to get a felony conviction. There is no compulsion to charge the most serious layers of this offense. There is prosecutorial discretion.

Under this law, if someone is apprehended, they can be deported without any charging, and that is where the misconception and the mischaracterization is.

If someone is convicted of illegal reentry and deported and they come back, a prosecutor would have the discretion to charge the 10-year minimum. It is not compulsory. It is within the discretion but, yes, he would meet the element.

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

Madam Speaker, I have heard a lot from the other side about costs, whether it be costs to law enforcement, costs to imprison, costs to society. I want to talk about the costs of open-border policies that is felt in this country.

In the year 1990, roughly 5,000 Americans died because of illegal drug use. Since the year 2000, almost 1.5 million Americans have lost their life because of using illegal drugs. Of course, there is involvement locally and domestically in the drug trade, but just about all drugs--statistically, all illegal drugs--come into the country illegally. That is just one category dealing with the cost of illegal immigration.

Any criminal code should have three objectives:

First, it should protect Americans. It should protect American children. It should protect American families, neighborhoods, and businesses from the ill effects of crime.

Second, it should punish illegal activity. When someone harms another American, there should be adequate and reciprocal punishment. It should be efficient, and it should work, again, to protect Americans.

Thirdly, it should deter ongoing criminal conduct in that same vein, repeat criminal offenses, or anyone who would want to copy criminal conduct to enrich themselves.

When you look at the scale of illegal immigration, when you look at the problems that are being inflicted upon this country across every metric, the criminal law is failing to protect Americans.

This bill, again, aims to target the committed criminals who are here illegally. There is no distinction under the current law for people who commit crimes when they are here illegally versus those who commit crimes who are citizens. That discrepancy enables hordes of illegal immigrants to come from around the world to harm Americans.

Again, I repeat, Mr. Raskin, in good faith and with sound logic, talked about robbery. He talked about property crimes. He talked about rape and murder. Some of these people have been convicted of rape, murder, property crimes after they have been deported. They return illegally and harm Americans.

This bill aims to preempt the harm Americans feel by committed illegal immigrant criminals.

Just this week, there was a release from the Department of Homeland Security. A 34-year-old gang member

from Mexico had illegally entered the country 26 times. He has received convictions for burglary, tampering with government records, government witnesses, criminal enterprises, illegal reentry multiple times. When you look at cases like this that are so voluminous, it is hard to summarize. Again, the only conclusion--the only conclusion is the law is insufficient as it is currently drafted.

We are in Congress to make laws to protect Americans. When we have such gaping holes in our criminal justice law as it relates to illegal immigrant criminals, not dairy workers, not those who are not committing crimes, the conclusion is straightforward. We need to change the law.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle candidly are twisting themselves into circles to defend the policies of the status quo. They want more illegal immigrants. They do not want stricter enforcement. They are turning every opportunity to resist the changes that Republicans and this President are trying to implement.

Again, as a Federal prosecutor in my previous career, I saw how illegal, unchecked immigration harmed every corner of my State and the country. When you have an open flow of illegal immigration, crime flourishes. It is hard to quantify the cost.

Again, with this bill, for any illegal immigrant to be under its effect, they must commit a felony and get convicted or they must illegally reenter--not enter--reenter after deportation. That is not a standard too high. That is not detached from logic.

Again, when you look at the goals of what all criminal laws should achieve, protecting Americans, punishing illegal activity, and to deter repeat offenses, this is a needed step to accompany the legitimate approach that the President has been implementing over the past few years.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill.

After listening to the previous few hours, it should surprise no one that the party of open borders, the party of illegal aliens, and now the party of State-run grocery stores hates this bill because this bill secures America's borders. It protects America's farmers and America's businesses. It protects us from tremendous amounts of waste, fraud, and abuse, and it stops the largest tax hike in American history.

This bill is a win for the American people.

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 the topic of this Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today alongside four of my esteemed colleagues to both highlight and condemn the misuse of taxpayer dollars funneled to illegal immigrants.

An outrageous pattern of perverse and intentional incentives reveal deliberate efforts to worsen the border crisis and to allow tens of millions of illegal aliens to invade our Nation at direct cost to the American taxpayer.

The Biden-Harris administration cycled through repeated falsehoods: claiming the border was secure, claiming they did not have what was needed to stop this invasion, claiming that they were helpless and needed Congress to take the lead. Meanwhile, that same administration lined the pockets of leftwing NGOs to shower illegal immigrants with incentives in the form of open-ended access to your tax dollars.

Earlier this year, reports surfaced from the watchdog group, Open The Books, exposing Biden's Department of Health and Human Services for awarding shockingly large amounts of grants and dollars to nonprofits focused on aiding illegal immigrants, amounting to as high as 20 million people who illegally crossed into our country during Biden's term in office.

Taxpayer-funded awards paid for illegal aliens' housing, healthcare, education, even music lessons, therapy. You name it, the taxpayer covered it.

Using NGOs as a proxy, the Biden administration sent a clear message that our laws were not to be taken seriously, and living off of the American taxpayer was both acceptable and encouraged. The same people fueling this elaborate scheme also pushed a false narrative that supporting illegal activity somehow gives them a moral high ground. This, of course, is false.

Mr. Speaker, I am here to tell the American people that they are right to expect secure borders. They are right to demand law and order. They are right to be outraged that hundreds of billions of their dollars have gone to illegal aliens and politically connected NGOs who facilitated this recent invasion.

President Trump's swift actions to halt illegal crossings and to deport illegal aliens in his first 100 days has made one thing painfully clear: The Biden-Harris administration was never working to fix our immigration system. They actively and deliberately worked to undermine it.

The Center for Immigration Studies found illegal immigrants annually take--and this is a conservative estimate--nearly $120 billion directly from public services, to include public schools, public welfare, and healthcare. Every American across the country should expect more from their government.

Joining me today are a few of my colleagues. I yield first to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Moore), my fellow North Carolinian and a fierce border security advocate. Congressman Moore has been a leading voice in the fight to reform FEMA and to ensure its funds go toward helping American citizens rather than to illegal immigrants, especially those recovering from Hurricane Helene.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Congressman from North Carolina (Mr. Moore).

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Haridopolos), my good friend from the Eighth Congressional District, otherwise known as the Space Coast.

Congressman Haridopolos and I have had many conversations about the cost of illegal immigration on programs that are designed to help and support vulnerable Americans, especially Medicaid.

Congressman Haridopolos has extensive experience in the Medicaid space, and he knows that it must be guarded to protect those who rely upon it here in the United States. It is not an international charity, and it is especially not for the illegal immigrants here in this country. I will ask him to elaborate on his experience with this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I am ready for that debate any day, and I am ready for that discussion any day.

Again, the Republicans believe that American tax dollars should serve American citizens and not those who are here illegally.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the Eighth Congressional District of the great State of North Carolina (Mr. Harris).

Congressman Harris pointed out back in February that an NGO in North Carolina was actively working to hinder law enforcement, aid illegal immigrants, and further worsen the crisis engulfing our communities both in North Carolina and all over our country. A pastor of more than 30 years, Congressman Harris is proof that allowing this humanitarian crisis to continue is not compassionate and that enforcing our laws is not hateful.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Harris for his remarks.

At least 1 million illegals are on Medicaid. I would submit that I have heard not one syllable from the Democratic Party from 5 years ago when Joe Biden took power until today protesting that fact. The Republican Party wants to protect Medicaid and get the 1 million-plus illegals on it out of the country and off of the program.

Mr. Speaker, I mentioned earlier that some of the ridiculous benefits that taxpayers have unknowingly funded for illegal aliens include something as unique as music lessons. When digging into this issue, Congressman Kennedy and I were both outraged and simply shocked at the brazen and flagrant waste of funds on these perverse incentives.

I know Congressman Kennedy to be a fierce advocate for conservative principles both for his district in Utah and for the country at large.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from the Third Congressional District of Utah (Mr. Kennedy).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.

Mr. Speaker, you have heard today from our colleagues and myself about the outrageous government-funded incentives and plans to keep illegal aliens not only flowing into this country but also to stay in this country. This scheme goes beyond waste. It represents, candidly, a betrayal of the American people and the American taxpayers, who have suffered mightily in this country because of the illegal immigration crisis.

In closing, I simply ask the following of the American citizens who rely on Medicare or Medicaid: Should we allow illegal immigrants to dilute the quality of your benefits and run up costs in emergency rooms who are precluded from turning illegal immigrants away?

I say, along with my colleagues: Absolutely not. No tax dollars should be allocated to covering healthcare costs for any person who is in this country illegally.

To the American parents, whether rural or urban, who are struggling to feed your children, I ask: Should illegal immigrants receive tax- funded meals day in, day out to eat on your dime?

Again, I heartily say: Absolutely not.

To the children at risk of falling behind in lagging schools all over this country, I ask: Should we continue to allow millions upon millions to arrive here illegally and crowd out your classrooms?

I would say, again: Under no circumstances should we give public education dollars to any person or any family who is here illegally.

To the Social Security recipient I ask: Should we take on more debt and endanger your access to continued benefits just to keep our borders open?

With no hesitation, I again say: Absolutely not. We must protect the tax dollars of American citizens.

To the veterans who are battling homelessness or addiction or the western North Carolinians who are left without shelter following Hurricane Helene, I ask: Should your tax dollars go to housing illegal aliens, to transporting illegal aliens while you continually suffer?

Again, I say definitively: Under no circumstances is this appropriate.

I urge all of my colleagues in Congress to join me in reversing this perverse incentive structure by sending a clear message that the United States laws are to be respected. Put candidly, if you are here illegally, leave. If you return here illegally, you will be punished.

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

Mr. Speaker, due to unforeseen circumstances, I was unable to cast my vote for S. 146, TAKE IT DOWN ACT.

Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 104.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor today to wish the happiest of birthdays to my dear friend and brother in Christ Richard Lockamy.

I have known Richard for as long as I can remember. With age, I admire, respect, and appreciate the man Richard is, and that admiration is growing with every day.

Briefly, Richard grew up in Benson, North Carolina, the oldest of four. He attended Shaw University, followed by North Carolina State University, where he received a graduate degree in mathematics.

He married Lena Lockamy, with whom he shared 48 wonderful years of marriage before Lena passed into her eternal heavenly home nearly 5 years ago.

Richard and Lena had one son, Marcus, who, in his own right, is now a wonderful man.

Professionally, Richard has worked at some of the world's leading companies, and for decades he has taught at the high school and collegiate level.

Despite his many professional accomplishments, what truly sets Richard apart in my life and in the lives of many others is his faithful service to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. With each day and every encounter, Richard's witness is as apparent as it is infectious. I saw this personally in the Raleigh men's class of Bible Study Fellowship where for nearly 40 years Richard met with dozens of men each week.

Mr. Speaker, I wish Richard a happy birthday.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the great people of Youngsville, North Carolina, ahead of their 150th anniversary celebration on March 17.

Originally a railroad town and a community along U.S. Highway 1, Youngsville played a pivotal role in the growth of North Carolina's agricultural and rail industries and, in turn, helped develop the economy of our State and our region together.

Today, Youngsville mirrors her residents. It is a vibrant, proudly patriotic community with robust growth across the board. Yet somehow, despite this growth, Youngsville has retained its character and heart by reimagining its downtown to meet the demands of an active community. It is no wonder that young families from across North Carolina and the region have flocked to this area.

As its residents know, Youngsville is a truly special place and a treasure for the great State of North Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the Youngsville community on this anniversary, and I wish them all the best in the next 150 years.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise as the newly elected Representative of North Carolina's 13th Congressional District. This being my first speech on the House floor, I want to take an opportunity to introduce myself to the House, to talk a little bit about our incredible district, and then highlight one of the single most important issues to me personally and one of the main motivating factors that led me to run for office: illegal immigration and the deep harm it inflicts on our country each and every day.

First, the 13th Congressional District of North Carolina stretches all the way from Lee County to the State's northern border, and it includes: Wake, Johnston, Harnett, Franklin, Caswell, Person, and Granville Counties along the way.

We tout a wide array of professions from dedicated farmers and retailers to manufacturers and medical professionals, providing the Nation and the world with food, fuel, clothing, and care.

On January 3 when I was sworn in to Congress, I was blessed and humbled to have my grandfather in the House Chamber with me. Also a lifelong North Carolinian, he fought and was wounded in World War II fighting the Nazis before coming home to start a business, raise a family, and serve his community in many ways for decades.

He and my father both inspired me to work hard and pursue a lifelong goal of serving as a Federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of North Carolina, which I did for the better part of the last decade.

I proudly worked alongside law enforcement at every level, local, State, and Federal, to prosecute organized crimes in cases that touched every corner of the country.

This, of course, included drug cartels, human traffickers, those who were here to commit financial crimes, national gangs, and many, many more.

I saw how harmful policies weakened law enforcement and gravely wounded communities and households all over the country. The most glaring policy flaws involved the southern border.

As soon as the Biden administration took power, their decisions made one thing very clear: The policy flaws involving the southern border and the illegal immigration crisis, they were no blunders of the Biden- Harris administration. This was a conscious and deliberate policy to flood the Nation with illegal immigrants, not just from our neighbors to the south, but from all over the world.

Behind me is a chart. Many of the viewers may recognize it as the chart that President Trump was viewing when he turned his head, a divine miracle that saved his life. The chart itself shows directly that all President Biden and Kamala Harris had to do was nothing.

We can see that the border was secure and illegal immigration was descending. As soon as they took power, it was like a vertical rocket ship. There was no gradual increase. It was an immediate increase.

Me personally, I saw how the Biden-Merrick Garland DOJ put the brakes on enforcing immigration laws, purposely slowing immigration prosecutions down to a trickle.

Open borders and redirected efforts allowed the international criminal organizations not only to take hold in this country, but they took hold in such a way that it is far more pervasive than many Americans realize.

Yes, we see the effects, but most do not fully understand the wide- reaching influence of these bad actors. As a point in thesis, we must address illegal immigration now.

Now, I will say I was very glad to read the report yesterday of our new Attorney General, Ms. Bondi. On her very first day in office, she directed the DOJ to pause all Federal funding for sanctuary cities. I applaud the Attorney General for taking this important step and I will state it is high time that public officials in Democratically controlled cities and States around the country follow her lead and adhere to the rule of law.

It is because of the reckless open-border policies, again, designed and embraced by the Democratic Party, that every State has suffered.

If I can turn to the next chart.

Again, this next chart will show just how drastic the open border crisis was during the last 4 years, it is a little clearer. Again, these are the individuals on the terrorist watch list apprehended illegally crossing the open border.

Again, we are talking about the ill effects of these policies. In fiscal year 2017, '18, '19, '20, again, no involvement, and then in '21, '22, '23, and '24, it skyrockets.

Again, all Americans have been put at risk. It is because of these open-border policies, that we continue to mourn the entirely preventable crimes that so many Americans have faced. This, of course, includes the young lady named Laken Riley from Georgia and Rachel Morin from Maryland and many others who died at the hands of illegal immigrants.

As one other statistic, West Virginia, a rural State, loses more than a thousand people every year from fentanyl smuggled across our southern border. Opioid overdoses are the leading cause of death among Americans in every State from 18 to 45.

In Nevada, just those that we know about, human traffickers that are here illegally prey on up to 500 minors shuffling them into sex trafficking.

The statistics are endless. The examples are too numerous. And make no mistake about this, this wide, far-reaching crisis is in my community, it is in your community, and it is in every community around the country.

With an open border and weak law enforcement policies, every incentive imaginable exists for individuals to come to the United States and prey on our people. I saw it firsthand as a prosecutor when I talked to these criminals, when I investigated their crimes. We must face the reality that every incentive exists for criminals around the

world to come here to the United States, for organizations to come here to the United States to set up a permanent and entrenched presence. They prey on our people, and they enrich themselves while doing it.

Again, when I was prosecuting these cases, I saw firsthand how criminal illegal immigrants completely disregard our border and disregard our laws. They come here with one intent, to inflict harm on Americans while enriching themselves.

Again, it was no secret what was happening across the Department of Justice. Statistics were overwhelming as it relates to drug overdose deaths, addiction, and the presence of cartels in our communities. Human traffickers and drug cartels clearly saw that the Biden administration was intent on undoing every enforcement mechanism that they had at the border.

President Trump had figured it out. Joe Biden undid it.

Our criminal justice system immediately, State and Federal, became weighed down by the surging crime that accompanied our invasion from illegal immigrants. This crisis burdens not just our communities with public safety issues, as my colleague from Missouri just mentioned, this crisis burdens our healthcare system, and it burdens our public school system. By some estimates, illegal immigrant children account for up to 10 to 15 percent of the public school students in various portions of our country.

By some estimates, it is estimated that we spend up to $150 billion per year at local, State, and Federal levels that are direct payments for illegal immigrants.

Again, there is one study that the Homeland Security Committee did in the 118th Congress that reported that nearly 10 percent of the births covered by Medicaid were children of illegal immigrants.

Now, proponents of illegal immigration and weak borders have for years gaslit Americans into believing that it is inhumane to enforce our borders. Of course, this empty argument is ridiculous and easily rebutted on multiple levels.

For those who have experienced the crime brought to our country from illegal immigration, we have a different perspective. I would submit allowing a criminal illegal alien who was arrested on multiple occasions to be free in our midst and to murder an innocent girl like Laken Riley, that is inhumane.

Surrendering apartment complexes that are filled with hardworking American taxpayers to vicious gangs, that is inhumane.

Allowing hundreds of thousands of Americans to die from one drug that enters into our country through one mechanism, an open southern border, through meticulous schemes of multinational criminal organizations day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, and to do nothing about it, that is inhumane.

Allowing millions more to fall into treacherous addiction with wide availability of dangerous drugs flowing across the open border, and again, to do nothing about it, that is inhumane.

We see once mighty centers of American exceptionalism from New York City, Manhattan; Philadelphia, specifically the Kensington neighborhood; or even San Francisco. From East to West and North to South, a tsunami of illegal drugs have hollowed out countless individuals and countless homes, ruining lives, ruining neighborhoods, ruining cities, and ruining States.

What have our leaders done over the last 4 years? Nothing. Instead and insultingly, they have continued to incentivize without check illegal immigration, and they force the taxpayers to foot the bill.

Weak border proponents, including some of my colleagues on the other side of this aisle, expect law enforcement to turn a blind eye to the trafficking of people across our border and around the country. They have played right into the hand of cartels, making their policies and their efforts complicit in the abuse and the atrocities that we all see.

This cycle is not only inhumane, it is as shameful as it is dangerous, and it will destroy our country if we do not fix it and fix it with urgency.

I personally saw firsthand how criminal illegal aliens and the organizations that send them here capitalized on our open-border policies and how flatly wrong many, if not all, of the left's talking points are as they relate to the broader immigrant issue.

The following observations of mine are supported by facts within our national law enforcement communities and, again, through firsthand observations.

First, the left throws out any distinction between legal immigrants and legal immigrant descendants and illegal immigrants and their descendants. There is a very stark contrast between those two camps.

Second, the left claims that immigrants, broadly speaking, only want to come here to the United States for a better life and that they only engage in legal and honest work. Again, that is simply not the case uniformly by any stretch. There are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, who come here repeatedly illegally, again, looking to enrich themselves through illegal activity at the American people's expense.

I investigated and prosecuted dozens of individuals who worked in various sectors, like banking, the auto repair business, the public school system, the agricultural business, shipping enterprises, law enforcement, and countless other outlets. Yes, even law enforcement. Those same people, while they had an honest job, they also engaged in violent crime, Medicaid fraud, and organized retail theft. They engaged in drug trafficking, human trafficking, and/or other types of crime in addition to their ``honest'' work. At times they even used their jobs to better facilitate criminal endeavors.

This type of sophisticated criminal infrastructure is a cancer, and it must be eradicated. Again, we must redirect the terrible policies that enabled this ill in our country.

Lastly, I will say this: The claim that immigrants commit far fewer crimes than native-born Americans, again, this statement is far too broad, and it is easily refuted.

First, as the President's team has stated correctly, every person who enters our country illegally has committed a crime. That is 100 percent across the board. However, secondly, and even more importantly and going directly to the heart of what that claim indicates, one must ask oneself: If we do not know who you are and why you are here, is it likely that you will be successfully investigated and prosecuted?

Of course not. There are hundreds of thousands of people who cross over the border undetected. One must ask themselves hypothetically: Regarding a native-born, local thief, a pickpocket, is it easier to investigate and prosecute him or someone that even our border enforcement authorities, our Federal law enforcement authorities, or local law enforcement have no idea who they are? Of course, the former is easier to convict.

With all that our country has endured, we simply must know who is entering our country and why they are coming here. Thankfully, we have all turned the page. The disastrous policies of Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Mr. Mayorkas are being undone with rapid speed.

For a decade, President Trump alone has identified the threat of illegal immigration and how the American taxpayers are being damaged by those who come here to harm us collectively.

We say America First because there is simply no plan B. Flatly speaking, nobody can save us if we do not save ourselves. As my colleagues have stated, so far Republicans have made great progress this cycle. We passed the Laken Riley Act. We passed the Preventing Violence Against Women By Illegal Immigrants Act. President Trump's executive orders have made an immediate difference, but our work is far from over.

We must reverse the incentive structures. We must classify illegal immigrant criminals for what they are, and we must punish them severely. It is a no-brainer, Mr. Speaker. We must protect our borders and, by extension, all American citizens. If we don't, then we run a grave risk of losing our country.