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 NEWSROOMRemarks07.23.25Thune: The One Big Beautiful Bill to Provide Much-Needed Resources to the Border“[T]he One Big Beautiful Bill will ensure that [President Trump’s] administration has the resources it needs to continue its work of enforcing the law and protecting our country.” 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): “Madam President, during the month of June, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded a total of 9,306 encounters at our southern border. “9,306. “For the entire month of June. “It’s difficult to overstate just how much progress this reflects. “Under President Biden, monthly encounters at our southern border were often well over 200,000 per month. “During December of 2023, Customs and Border Protection recorded a staggering 301,981 encounters at our southern border – or 32 times as many as were encountered last month. “The previous three Junes under President Biden saw more than 130,000, more than 140,000, and more than 200,000 encounters. “And now we’re at 9,306. “9,306. “Fewer individuals than the Biden administration sometimes saw in a day. “It’s really incredible, Madam President. “And this isn’t a one-off. “During President Trump’s first full five months in office, monthly numbers at the southern border have never exceeded 12,500 encounters. “What we’re seeing here is a president committed to fulfilling his responsibilities – namely, enforcing the law. “It’s too bad the previous administration didn’t see fit to try it. “But it’s a new day, Madam President. “And Republicans in Congress are committed to supporting and continuing the administration’s good work. “And that starts with the generational investment in border security that we made this July in the One Big Beautiful Bill. “That includes funding for border barriers and technology, including finishing the border wall. “It includes funding for additional Border Patrol agents. “For additional detention space. “For additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. “The acting ICE director was on ‘Face the Nation’ the other day, and he had this to say, and I quote, ‘Our ranks have really shrunk, and we really don’t have enough to do the law enforcement mission. One of the big hampers for us is with the increase in sanctuary cities and sanctuary policies, we have to send more officers and agents out into the community, out on the street. Where it would only take us two agents, say, going into a secure facility or a police station, county jail to arrest a public safety threat, well, we have to send out four to five agents, and with the increase of assaults on officers, we sometimes have to send out eight to ten just to provide security for those officers that are making the arrest.’ “Madam President, leaving aside the intolerable fact that ICE agents are facing such hostility for carrying out their essential public safety mission, it is not acceptable that we don’t have enough ICE officers to do the job that they need to be doing. “And our bill goes a long way toward ending that problem. “We also included Department of Justice funding to hire more immigration judges to address the massive backlog in immigration cases – a backlog made exponentially worse by the Biden administration’s policies. “Immigration cases should be decided in weeks [or] months [– not] years. “And our bill will help move toward that goal. “Madam President, one of the most basic responsibilities of the federal government is providing for our nation’s security. “And border security is an essential part of national security. “The chaos at our southern border under the Biden administration was an invitation to terrorists, criminals, and other dangerous individuals to enter our country. “It placed an incredible burden on our Border Patrol agents, many of whom were pulled off the essential work of guarding the border to process the flood of illegal immigrants. “And it placed a big burden on border cities – and non-border cities as well, who struggled to deal with an influx of migrants. “President Trump has turned this situation around. “And the One Big Beautiful Bill will ensure that his administration has the resources it needs to continue its work of enforcing the law and protecting our country. “It will also ensure permanent improvements in our immigration system and border enforcement that will, I hope, last for long after President Trump leaves office.”Related Issues: Border SecurityPrintEmailTweetPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER THUNEFacebookXInstagram
