Majority Leader | Remark | Remarks | THE NEWSROOM | Repub...Skip to primary navigation Skip to content×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNE×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUFacebookXInstagramFacebookXInstagramVisit Leader Thune's South Dakota Site Here THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER THUNExxsearchxMENUHomeTHE NEWSROOMRemarks12.09.25Thune on Republicans’ Historic Investments to Secure the Border“Republicans promised to secure the border … And thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, the American people can be certain that border security is here to stay.” Click here to watch the video.WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:Thune’s remarks below (as delivered):“Mr. President, it wasn’t long ago that the southern border was in a state of chaos.“During the Biden administration, we routinely saw hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants arriving at the border in a single month.“It was a situation that the Democrat senator from Pennsylvania likened to the population of the city of Pittsburgh showing up at the border.“And that’s to say nothing of the 1.9 million known gotaways who slipped into the country during the Biden years.“Or the suspected terrorists, gang members, and other criminals who were among those coming across our open border. “And then there was the Biden administration’s catch and release approach to illegal immigration.“And the way the Biden administration abused asylum and parole to allow individuals to take up residence in our country. “Mr. President, it’s hard to believe that the Biden administration and Democrats allowed their border crisis to rage quite literally for years.“But they did.“Even the New York Times now admits that President Biden chose not to secure the border when given the chance.“The Times reported this weekend, and I quote, ‘[An] examination of Mr. Biden’s record found that he and his closest advisers repeatedly rebuffed recommendations that could have addressed the border crisis faster.’“Let me repeat that, Mr. President.“They repeatedly rebuffed recommendations to ease the border crisis.“Well, Mr. President, I’m glad the New York Times is finally reporting what we’ve known for a long time, and that is that the Biden administration was completely uninterested in solving the border crisis. “Fortunately, those days are over.“When President Trump and Republicans took control this year, we moved to quickly restore order at the southern border.“And the numbers speak for themselves.“Customs and Border Protection reported a record-low number of encounters in November.“Fewer than 250 people per day are being apprehended.“Compare that to the Biden administration, where law enforcement was catching more than 5,000 per day on average.“And in November – for the seventh month in a row – zero illegal immigrants have been released into the United States.“So under the Trump administration we have a 95 percent drop in apprehensions at the southern border.“And not a single one of the individuals apprehended is being released into the country.“Mr. President, this is remarkable – remarkable – progress.“This is what the American people expect when it comes to securing our borders.“And Republicans are doing everything we can to ensure that this will be the new standard for border security for a long time to come.“Our One Big Beautiful Bill, which we passed in July, makes a generational investment in the resources that law enforcement needs to secure the border and deter illegal immigration. “We funded completion of the border wall.“New technology and equipment for law enforcement.“Additional Border Patrol agents.“Expanded detention capacity.“And expanded partnerships with local law enforcement to enforce immigration law.“Mr. President, these investments are beginning to be implemented across the immigration system.“Hiring efforts are underway to bring on additional agents.“More than 1,000 state and local law enforcement agencies have partnered with the federal government to enforce immigration laws through the 287(g) program.“And the Department of Homeland Security is awarding contracts for new technologies and wall construction at the southern border – investments that will improve law enforcement’s ability to apprehend the illegal immigrants and smugglers who attempt to cross our southern border.“Mr. President, Republicans promised to secure the border.“We wasted no time in delivering on that promise.“And thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, the American people can be certain that border security is here to stay.“I’m grateful to the men and women on the front lines who come to work every day committed to a safer and a more secure America.“And Republicans will continue to work to ensure that they have everything they need to get the job done.”PrintEmailTweetNextPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
