Research | The Leader Board | THE NEWSROOM | Republican LeaderSkip 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 McCONNELL×Close THE NEWSROOMRemarks Press Releases The Leader Board Op-Eds Videos SENATE RESOURCESRepublican Senators Committees Congressional Record Congress.gov Senate Floor Webcast ABOUT LEADER McCONNELLxxsearchxMENUFacebookTwitterInstagramFacebookTwitterInstagramVisit Senator McConnell's 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 McCONNELLxxsearchxMENUHomeTHE NEWSROOMThe Leader Board12.20.23Border Crisis Escalates Because Of Biden’s Disastrous PoliciesWith Record Numbers Of Illegal Aliens Entering The Country, CBP Is Overwhelmed And Senate Republicans Are Fighting To Enact Border Security Reforms That Can Begin Restoring OrderSENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “Over the weekend, our colleagues continued to make progress toward an agreement on border security. I’m especially grateful to Senator Lankford for stewarding Senate Republicans’ efforts to produce meaningful policy changes, fix our broken asylum system, and secure the southern border. Addressing the border crisis at home is a fundamental part of legislation that will help America meet each of the most glaring national security challenges we face around the world. And there are a number of significant issues our colleagues are still working to resolve. The effects of years of failed border enforcement are compounded. Border security policy is complex. And our colleagues at the negotiating table are clear-eyed about the fact that getting this agreement right – and producing legislative text – is going to require some time.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 12/18/2023)LEADER McCONNELL: “Senate Republicans will not make up for others showing up late to the table by waiving our responsibility to carefully negotiate and review any agreement before voting on it. And I am encouraged by our colleagues’ commitment to keep making steady progress in their negotiations over the coming week and beyond. America is facing a never-before-seen border crisis. An imperialist thug is trying to redraw the map of Europe. A repressive authoritarian state is preparing to put more of the Indo-Pacific under its control. And the world’s largest state sponsor of terror is showing us it’s as determined as ever to kill American servicemembers and disrupt global commerce. There is simply no room for falling short, here. We cannot afford to get this wrong.” (Sen. McConnell, Remarks, 12/18/2023)SENATE REPUBLICAN WHIP JOHN THUNE (R-SD): “Mr. President, as the director of the FBI reminded us in his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month, it doesn’t take many dangerous people to cause a lot of devastation. And the crisis at our southern border is creating a situation that could allow not just a few but a lot of dangerous individuals to enter our country. And so while a lot of us Republicans are ready and eager to take up aid to our allies like Ukraine, we will continue to insist that any national security supplemental address not just the security needs of our allies abroad, or helping them defend their borders, but the security needs of the American people here at home, by defending our border.” (Sen. Thune, Remarks, 12/13/2023)SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): “We are making real progress on this. We finally have everybody at the table and admitting that this is a national security crisis that we do have to address. That's actually progress that may seem shocking to a lot of viewers, but it’s taken a long time to be able to get to this point, especially thinking about we had the highest September in history, the highest October in history, the highest November in history, and this will be the highest December in history of any crossings of any time on our southwest border. So, it is absolutely spiraling out of control as you have highlighted over and over again. So, our focus has been on how to get this back under control. That’s setting caps and limits. That’s actually dealing with how we process asylum, that we’re not just releasing people to be able to do asylum later. They have got to actually do the qualification right there and be able to turn around people that don't qualify. That’s the way to be able to get this under control. we all know it. It’s just getting common agreement on it.” (Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom,” 12/19/2023)As Border Security Discussions Continue In Congress, ‘The Huge Spike In Migrants And Resulting Chaos At Various Border Locations Have Increased Frustration With The Biden Administration’s Immigration Policies’“As Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas left closed-door talks with congressional leaders Friday, dozens of migrants from Senegal, Guinea and Mexico walked along the Arizona border wall built during Donald Trump’s presidency, looking to surrender to agents.” (“Illegal Crossings Surge In Remote Areas As Congress And The White House Weigh Major Asylum Limits,” The Associated Press, 12/19/2023)“A Border Patrol tour in Arizona for news organizations, including The Associated Press, showed … flows are overwhelming. The huge spike in migrants and resulting chaos at various border locations have increased frustration with the Biden administration’s immigration policies and put pressure on Congress to reach a deal on asylum.” (“Illegal Crossings Surge In Remote Areas As Congress And The White House Weigh Major Asylum Limits,” The Associated Press, 12/19/2023)‘The U.S. Asylum System Has Become A Proxy Process For Migrants To Stay And Work In America, Irrespective Of Whether They Have Valid Claims Or Not’“Over the past few years, however, the U.S. asylum system has become a proxy process for migrants to stay and work in America, irrespective of whether they have valid claims or not.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“A mounting backlog of roughly 3 million pending cases has crippled the federal immigration court system's ability to adjudicate claims in a timely fashion.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“Most migrants are not screened for asylum at the southern border anyway…” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“Consequently, most of those who are not deported are generally released with court cases that typically take years to complete.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)‘Many Expect To Be Released Into The U.S.’ “A remote desert region along the southern border has become a makeshift international arrivals area for thousands of migrants from Africa, Asia and Latin America hoping to work and reunite with family members in the U.S.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“Over the past few days, large groups of migrant men, women and some families with children have spent the night in a makeshift staging ground in this rugged section of the U.S.-Mexico border, waiting for overtaxed border officials to process them.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“Many expect to be released into the U.S. after being vetted by local Border Patrol agents…” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/8/2023)“The wait to be processed was so long in recent days that Mexican families and merchants traveled regularly to the staging ground to sell drinks and food, hoping to convince the desperate newcomers to buy their burritos, tamales and cups of coffee from the other side of the border wall.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“At a sprawl of white tents near Tucson International Airport that was built for about 1,000 people, some migrants are flown to the Texas border for processing. Others are released within two days, as mandated by a court order in the Tucson sector. CBP policy limits detention to 72 hours. Most are released with notices to appear in immigration courts, which are backlogged with more than 3 million cases.” (“Illegal Crossings Surge In Remote Areas As Congress And The White House Weigh Major Asylum Limits,” The Associated Press, 12/19/2023)The ‘Unprecedented’ Number Of People Illegally Entering The United States Keeps Breaking Daily, Monthly, And Yearly Records “The besieged U.S. southern border saw a record number of migrant encounters in a single day on Monday, as thousands flooded into Eagle Pass, Texas, amid a broader surge in recent weeks that has left authorities overwhelmed. There were over 12,600 migrant encounters on Monday, Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox. That does not include the thousands still waiting for processing in the Del Rio Sector on Monday evening after a surge of migrants into Eagle Pass. The number includes over 11,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions and over 1,600 encountered at ports of entry. As of Tuesday morning, sources told Fox that agents are still processing and transporting more than 4,500 migrants at the busy crossing point, with more than 5,300 already in custody and facilities at 260% over capacity.” (“Southern Border Hit By Record Number Of Migrant Encounters In A Single Day As Thousands Flood Into Texas,” Fox News, 12/19/2023)“Meanwhile, there were over 3,000 encounters on Monday at the Tucson Sector in Arizona, where agents have also been overwhelmed and where Arizona's Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs deployed the National Guard to help.” (“Southern Border Hit By Record Number Of Migrant Encounters In A Single Day As Thousands Flood Into Texas,” Fox News, 12/19/2023)‘The Number Of Daily Arrivals Is “Unprecedented,”’ ‘We’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’“The number of daily arrivals is ‘unprecedented,’ [U.S. Customs And Border Protection’s Acting Commissioner Troy Miller] said, with illegal crossings topping 10,000 some days across the border in December.” (“Illegal Crossings Surge In Remote Areas As Congress And The White House Weigh Major Asylum Limits,” The Associated Press, 12/19/2023)“‘I’ve been working in this sector of the border for almost 20 years, and we've never seen anything like this,’ said Dan Abbott, a local volunteer with the group Humane Borders…” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“Along a remote stretch of border about an hour east of San Diego, border agents are also seeing another major influx of migrants into rural areas, as hundreds—sometimes thousands—a day cross through a section of border wall near the town of Jacumba Hot Springs, Calif.” (“Migrant Surge Overwhelms Border Agents As Smugglers Target Remote Stretches,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/18/2023)‘September Was The Highest Month On Record, While October Was The Highest October On Record,’ ‘Defying Historical Seasonal Trends, Illegal Border Crossings Have Spiked This Month’“The border saw a record number of encounters in FY 23, with 2.4 million coming across the border. September was the highest month on record, while October was the highest October on record. November and December, a time when migration is typically slowing down, are looking likely to post record or near-record numbers, as well as agents now routinely see over 10,000 encounters a day.” (“Southern Border Hit By Record Number Of Migrant Encounters In A Single Day As Thousands Flood Into Texas,” Fox News, 12/19/2023)“Defying historical seasonal trends, illegal border crossings have spiked this month.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“[In early December], Border Patrol … processed near-record levels of migrants, making roughly 10,000 apprehensions every 24 hours, up from the 6,000 daily average in October, according to internal government data obtained by CBS News.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“Arrests of people in families neared 72,000 in the Tucson sector from Oct. 1 through Dec. 9, more than nine times the same period last year. That’s a big change from when almost all migrants were adult men.” (“Illegal Crossings Surge In Remote Areas As Congress And The White House Weigh Major Asylum Limits,” The Associated Press, 12/19/2023)‘For Only The Second Time Ever, Border Patrol Apprehended More Than 2 Million Migrants Who Entered The U.S. Illegally In Fiscal Year 2023,’ With No End In Sight“For only the second time ever, Border Patrol apprehended more than 2 million migrants who entered the U.S. illegally in fiscal year 2023.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“Arrests for illegal crossings topped 2 million for the first time each of the U.S. government’s last two budget years …” (“Illegal Crossings Surge In Remote Areas As Congress And The White House Weigh Major Asylum Limits,” The Associated Press, 12/19/2023)“Arrests in the Border Patrol’s Tucson sector, which includes Lukeville, topped all nine sectors on the Mexican border from May to October, except June, according to the latest public figures.” (“Illegal Crossings Surge In Remote Areas As Congress And The White House Weigh Major Asylum Limits,” The Associated Press, 12/19/2023)“Since the start of the budget year on Oct. 1, agents in Tucson, Ariz., have made more than 142,000 arrests, according to preliminary data, up from about 54,000 arrests during the same time a year ago.” (“Migrant Surge Overwhelms Border Agents As Smugglers Target Remote Stretches,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/18/2023)“Fox reported last week that Department of Homeland Security officials told lawmakers this month that there were around 670,000 ‘gotaways,’ illegal immigrants who slipped past Border Patrol agents, in FY 23, and that they are releasing an average of 5,000 illegal immigrants a day to non-governmental organizations.” (“Southern Border Hit By Record Number Of Migrant Encounters In A Single Day As Thousands Flood Into Texas,” Fox News, 12/19/2023)‘Migrants Have Been Arriving In Greater Numbers And From More Countries Than Ever Before In U.S. History’“The chaotic and striking scenes at the outdoor staging area in the middle of the Arizona desert illustrate the dire humanitarian implications of the crisis along the southern border, where migrants have been arriving in greater numbers and from more countries than ever before in U.S. history.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“Most of the migrant men hailed from African countries, including Guinea, Mauritania, Morocco and Senegal, as well as some nations in Asia like Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Syria. Some men had left their hometowns in Ecuador and other parts of Latin America. The families traveling with children were predominantly Mexican and Central American.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“Senegalese people accounted for more than 9,000 arrests in Tucson from Oct. 1 to Dec. 9, while arrests of people from Guinea and India each topped 4,000. Agents have encountered migrants from about four dozen Eastern hemisphere countries.” (“Illegal Crossings Surge In Remote Areas As Congress And The White House Weigh Major Asylum Limits,” The Associated Press, 12/19/2023)Border Patrol Agents Are So Overwhelmed, They Can’t Respond To Smugglers And Others Cutting Numerous Holes In The Border Wall“Agents say it takes up to an hour to drive from Lukeville along the gravel road to discover breaches — a large chunk of time when tending to so many migrants in custody. ‘Our officers and agents are responding to large groups of migrants, which means that some of our agents aren’t on the line, not really monitoring for some of those cuts,’ said Troy Miller, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s acting commissioner. ‘If we don’t have anybody to respond, then you’re going to see what you’re seeing.’” (“Illegal Crossings Surge In Remote Areas As Congress And The White House Weigh Major Asylum Limits,” The Associated Press, 12/19/2023)“Hundreds of dates are written on concrete-filled steel columns erected along the U.S. border with Mexico to memorialize when the Border Patrol has repaired illicit openings in the would-be barriers. Yet no sooner are fixes made than another column is sawed, torched and chiseled for large groups of migrants to enter, usually with no agents in sight. The breaches stretch about 30 miles (48 kilometers) on a washboard gravel road west of Lukeville, an Arizona desert town that consists of an official border crossing, restaurant and duty-free shop. The repair dates are mostly since spring, when the flat desert region dotted with saguaro cactus became the busiest corridor for illegal crossings.” (“Illegal Crossings Surge In Remote Areas As Congress And The White House Weigh Major Asylum Limits,” The Associated Press, 12/19/2023)“Smuggling organizations remove a few inches from the bottom of 30-foot (9.1-meter) steel poles, which agents say can take as little as a half-hour. Columns sway back and forth, like a cantilever swing, creating ample space for large groups to walk through. Welders often attach metal bars horizontally across several columns to prevent swinging, but there are plenty of other places to saw.” (“Illegal Crossings Surge In Remote Areas As Congress And The White House Weigh Major Asylum Limits,” The Associated Press, 12/19/2023)“Just a few miles away from the outdoor staging area, dozens of migrants streamed through a small breach in the border wall. They started running after the suspected smugglers told them that reporters were filming the scene. The last to make their way through the breach were parents traveling with young children. The children smiled as they ran. ‘They're filming!’ one of the suspected smugglers said before running away and disappearing across a nearby Mexican highway.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)“The scene was not an anomaly. Border agents and contractors repair wall breaches on a daily basis, but they struggle to keep up with the smugglers. Right next to the part of the wall that had just been breached was a bollard with a label indicating that it had been repaired earlier in the day.” (“Migrants From Around The World Converge On Remote Arizona Desert, Fueling Humanitarian Crisis At The Border,” CBS News, 12/08/2023)The Crisis Has Forced CBP To Close Legal Crossings, Causing Local And National Economic Consequences “The influx near Lukeville has forced Customs and Border Protection to indefinitely close a legal border crossing popular with tourists from both countries who routinely travel back and forth.” (“Migrant Surge Overwhelms Border Agents As Smugglers Target Remote Stretches,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/18/2023)“U.S. Customs and Border Protection is temporarily suspending freight train railway crossings at border bridges in El Paso and Eagle Pass to shift staffing because of a surging numbers of migrants, CBP said.” (“CBP Suspends Border Railway Crossings In El Paso, Eagle Pass Due To Migrant Surge,” El Paso Times, 12/18/2023)“CBP said that staff is being redirected to assist the U.S. Border Patrol with taking migrants into custody and processing while prioritizing border security in what CBP described as an ‘evolving situation.’” (“CBP Suspends Border Railway Crossings In El Paso, Eagle Pass Due To Migrant Surge,” El Paso Times, 12/18/2023)“The potential binational economic impact of the border railway closures was not immediately clear. But it could also end up being felt far from the Texas-Mexico border.” (“CBP Suspends Border Railway Crossings In El Paso, Eagle Pass Due To Migrant Surge,” El Paso Times, 12/18/2023)“The American Association of Railroads said the El Paso and Eagle Pass railway closures will directly impact Union Pacific and BNSF, which operate 24 trains daily at the crossings, carrying agricultural products, vehicles, automotive parts, chemicals and consumer goods for companies across North America.” (“CBP Suspends Border Railway Crossings In El Paso, Eagle Pass Due To Migrant Surge,” El Paso Times, 12/18/2023)“‘The urgency of reopening these crossings and restoring rail service between the two nations cannot be overstated,’ American Association of Railroads President and CEO Ian Jefferies said in a statement. ‘There are not separate U.S. and Mexican rail networks; there is only one interconnected North American rail network. Every day the border remains closed unleashes a cascade of delay across operations on both sides of the border, impacting customers and ultimately consumers.’” (“CBP Suspends Border Railway Crossings In El Paso, Eagle Pass Due To Migrant Surge,” El Paso Times, 12/18/2023)“The closure of railway and border crossings hinder legitimate trade and travel and ‘make a bad situation worse, inflicting even more economic harm on the U.S.-Mexico relationship and driving up costs,’ Border Trade Alliance President Britton Mullen said in a statement.” (“CBP Suspends Border Railway Crossings In El Paso, Eagle Pass Due To Migrant Surge,” El Paso Times, 12/18/2023)“Ultimately, every railroad is impacted by the shutdown at the border since carriers interchange goods across the international rail network, the association stated.” (“CBP Suspends Border Railway Crossings In El Paso, Eagle Pass Due To Migrant Surge,” El Paso Times, 12/18/2023)“The suspension of international railway traffic is among several changes CBP has made in recent weeks in efforts to ‘respond, process and enforce consequences’ of unauthorized crossings along the border with Mexico, the agency said.” (“CBP Suspends Border Railway Crossings In El Paso, Eagle Pass Due To Migrant Surge,” El Paso Times, 12/18/2023)“In Eagle Pass, Texas, vehicle traffic remains suspended at Eagle Pass International Bridge 1.” (“CBP Suspends Border Railway Crossings In El Paso, Eagle Pass Due To Migrant Surge,” El Paso Times, 12/18/2023)“In San Diego, San Ysidro’s Pedestrian West operations remain suspended.” (“CBP Suspends Border Railway Crossings In El Paso, Eagle Pass Due To Migrant Surge,” El Paso Times, 12/18/2023)###SENATE REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS CENTERRelated Issues: Border Security, Law Enforcement, ImmigrationPrintEmailTweetPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER McCONNELLFacebookTwitterInstagram
