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 Board11.15.23United Senate Republicans Push To Change Biden’s Disastrous Border PoliciesThe Biden Administration’s Border Security Failures Are Drawing Record Numbers Of Illegal Aliens From All Over The World, Leaving American Law Enforcement OverwhelmedSENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “It is impossible to ignore the crisis at our southern border that’s erupted on Washington Democrats’ watch: Back-to-back record-setting years that saw millions upon millions of illegal arrivals at the border. And historic quantities of fentanyl and other lethal drugs pouring across to decimate American communities. Let’s remember where this crisis came from. President Biden campaigned on open-borders policies. His message was so compelling that crowds literally showed up at the southern border with his campaign logo on their shirts. As one put it back then, the President had, quote, ‘promised us that everything was going to change.’” (Leader McConnell, Remarks, 11/15/2023)LEADER McCONNELL: “[T]his is the Administration that canceled commonsense policies like ‘Remain in Mexico,’ shelved DHS resources meant for border wall construction, and abandoned overstretched border enforcement personnel to contend with a tidal wave of mass migration. Today, cleaning up this Administration’s mess at the southern border is matter of urgent national security. And I’m grateful to the group of Senate Republicans including Senator Lankford, Senator Graham, and Senator Cotton who have been working in good faith on substantive policy reforms to bring the crisis under control. The goal here is simple: Slow the flow; and stop the catch-and-release asylum system that’s overrunning border communities and blue cities, alike. This crisis isn’t crying out for boatloads of new taxpayer dollars. Just commonsense policy reform. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats do not appear ready to admit this reality. They’re apparently not ready to seriously address asylum abuse.” (Leader McConnell, Remarks, 11/15/2023)Senate Republicans Are Committed To Fighting For Commonsense Border Security ReformsSENATE REPUBLICAN WHIP JOHN THUNE (R-SD): “[T]he president’s recent supplemental funding request has not left me hopeful that the administration is suddenly going to become more effective. Potentially billions in reimbursement for blue states struggling to house illegal immigrants won’t do a single thing to solve the crisis we’re facing at the border. And while the president’s proposal does include some funding that would actually go toward security, funding alone is not enough. We need meaningful policy changes...” (Sen. Thune, Remarks, 11/01/2023)SENATE REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE CHAIR JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): “Joe Biden and the Democrats refuse to admit that we have an urgent crisis at the southern border. They refuse to admit that the crisis and the weakness is brought upon by the fact that they have ignored or reversed rules and activities that have worked in the past to secure the border.” (Sen. Barrasso, Press Conference, 11/14/2023)SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair: “Targeted funding must be accompanied by policy changes that ensure our borders are secure…” (Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing, 11/08/2023)SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC), Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member: “I reject the idea this is a global phenomenon problem. I think you’re misdiagnosing the problem. This is policy changes you all instituted that I told you wouldn’t work and we now need to fix that. Trend lines: 2020, 458,000 encounters. 2023, 2.5 million. We need to change that don’t we? That trend line.”SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: “We most certainly do.” (Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing, 11/08/2023)SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): “Republicans in the Senate this past weekend released a very simple proposal to deal with what we all know are the problems. Closing the loopholes in the law that have been exploited. And yes it deals with asylum and yes it deals with withholding because those are the areas that are being exploited. … The question is, do Democrat senators see it. That’s really the issue now. Everyone else seems to see it and admit to it.” (Sen. Lankford, Remarks, 11/06/2023)SEN. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-WV): “We are trying, I think, to offer the administration, we being the Republicans here in the Senate, offering the administration substantive policy changes that will bring these numbers down.” (Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing, 11/08/2023)SEN. KATIE BRITT (R-AL): “When we talk about this, we don’t have to manage the border as it says in one of your requests here, we actually need to secure it.” (Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing, 11/08/2023)Border Encounters With Illegal Aliens ‘Hit The Highest Ever Number For October’“Migrant encounters at the southern border hit the highest ever number for October last month, with more than 240,000 people encountered…” (“Migrant Encounters At Southern Border Set New Record For October: Data,” Fox News, 11/14/2023)“There were 240,988 encounters at the border in October, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said. That’s higher than the 231,529 recorded in October last year and the 164,837 encountered in 2021. In Oct 2020, there were just 71,929 encounters.” (“Migrant Encounters At Southern Border Set New Record For October: Data,” Fox News, 11/14/2023)THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: “[C]rossings remain unusually high…” (The Associated Press, 11/14/2023)“The latest numbers show that, despite a broad strategy in place from the Biden administration after the end of Title 42 in May that it says combines ‘consequences’ for illegal entry with expanded lawful pathways, numbers remain stubbornly high.” (“Migrant Encounters At Southern Border Set New Record For October: Data,” Fox News, 11/14/2023)Illegal Aliens Now Run Towards Law Enforcement, ‘Knowing That They Will Likely Be Released In A Few Days To Await Court Dates That Could Be Years Away’“For years, migrants who crossed illegally into the United States would often run away from law enforcement, but now once reaching the US most run to authorities, according to observers. They’re eager to be processed, knowing that they will likely be released in a few days to await court dates that could be years away…. Most of the migrants entering San Diego County appear familiar with the process, as though they’ve been prepared by others who’ve successfully arrived before them. They gather at various spots on the US side and await CBP officials … [B]uses first take them just a few miles to area detention centers to be processed over a few days. They’re then transported north to transit hubs in San Diego, where county officials say the vast majority travel to other cities.” (“They Live Near San Diego. Migrants Pass Through Their Back Yards Almost Nightly,” CNN, 11/13/2023)The Draw Of Easy Illegal Entry Into The United States Has Resulted In Huge Numbers Of Migrants Overwhelming Countries From Panama All The Way Through Mexico“The southwestern border of the U.S. has struggled to cope with increasing numbers of migrants from South America who move quickly through the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama before heading north. By September, 420,000 migrants, aided by Colombian smugglers, had passed through the gap in the year to date, Panamanian figures showed.” (“Caravan Of 3,000 Migrants Blocks Highway In Southern Mexico,” The Associated Press, 11/08/2023)THE WASHINGTON POST: ‘U.S.-Bound Migrants Are Overwhelming Mexico’ (The Washington Post, 10/20/2023)“[Mexico] is struggling with a migration crisis of its own, as historic numbers of asylum seekers cross its southern border. As many as 6,000 migrants a day have lined up outside government offices in southern Mexico — some seeking refuge in this country, but many others headed for the United States. That’s up to 10 times as many as in the spring. Security forces have pulled more than 27,000 undocumented migrants off trains in the past month alone.” (“U.S.-Bound Migrants Are Overwhelming Mexico,” The Washington Post, 10/20/2023)“Migrant shelters in Mexico are jammed, leaving thousands of foreign nationals bedding down in city streets. Costa Rica declared a state of emergency last month. Senior officials in Panama have described the influx as a national security concern.” (“U.S.-Bound Migrants Are Overwhelming Mexico,” The Washington Post, 10/20/2023)“About 3,000 migrants from Central America, Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti on [November 8th] blocked traffic on one of Mexico’s main southern highways to demand transit or exit visas to reach the U.S. border. The caravan of migrants set out on foot from the city of Tapachula, near the Guatemalan border, on Oct. 30, walking north toward the U.S.” (“Caravan Of 3,000 Migrants Blocks Highway In Southern Mexico,” The Associated Press, 11/08/2023)“The current caravan was among the largest since June 2022. Migrant caravans in 2018 and 2019 drew far greater attention. But with as many as 10,000 migrants showing up at the U.S. border in recent weeks, the Oct. 30 march is now just a drop in the bucket.” (“Caravan Of 3,000 Migrants Blocks Highway In Southern Mexico,” The Associated Press, 11/08/2023)“Until recently, the migrants reaching the U.S. border were mostly Mexicans and Central Americans. Now there’s a global outpouring of economic and political refugees funneling through Mexico. The number of South American migrants reaching Mexico this year has surpassed the number of Central Americans for the first time since record-keeping began. Mexico went from logging fewer than 2,000 South Americans a year for most of the past decade to more than 176,000 in the first eight months of 2023. Many are traveling with families.” (“U.S.-Bound Migrants Are Overwhelming Mexico,” The Washington Post, 10/20/2023)‘The Southern Border Has Just Become A Staging Ground For Migrants From All Parts Of The World To Come To The U.S. Most Quickly’“‘The Southern border has just become a staging ground for migrants from all parts of the world to come to the U.S. most quickly,’ said Muzaffar Chishti, a lawyer and the director of non-partisan research group Migration Policy Institute’s New York office.” (NBC News, 11/14/2023)“Border Patrol agents struggle communicating with many of them, instead relying on hand signals or smartphone translation apps – assuming the cell signal is strong enough. Spanish and English are no longer sufficient, as local volunteers have documented people from more than 40 countries crossing in recent months, including China, Turkey and Uzbekistan.” (“They Live Near San Diego. Migrants Pass Through Their Back Yards Almost Nightly,” CNN, 11/13/2023)Apprehensions Of Illegal Aliens From Asia And Africa TRIPLED During The Last Fiscal Year“Hundreds of thousands of migrants from all over the world are making their way to the Southwest border, with U.S. and Mexican authorities reporting a surge in apprehensions of people from Asia and Africa as human smuggling networks widen their reach across the globe. Arrests at the Southwest border of migrants from China, India and other distant countries, including Mauritania and Senegal, tripled to 214,000 during the fiscal year that ended in September from 70,000 in the previous fiscal year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Fewer than 19,000 migrants from Asia and Africa were apprehended in the fiscal year ended September 2021.” (“Migrants Are Flocking to the U.S. From All Over the Globe,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/04/2023)“‘The increase in migration from Asia and Africa is remarkable,’ said Enrique Lucero, head of the migrant support unit of the Tijuana city government, across from San Diego. ‘These days, we are dealing with 120 nationalities and 60 different languages.’” (“Migrants Are Flocking to the U.S. From All Over the Globe,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/04/2023)“Travelers say they exchange information and share videos of U.S.-bound routes on Tik Tok and Facebook, while smugglers offer lodging and travel agencies advertise transport services. Most Asian and African migrants make multiple airport stopovers in what are coming to be known as ‘donkey flights’ to reach countries such as Brazil, Ecuador or Nicaragua, which have few or no visa requirements for some nationalities. Once they set foot in Latin America, they move north in buses or cars and stay at hotels booked by smuggling organizations. Many wear bracelets similar to those of an all-inclusive resort, with inscriptions that identify the organization that coordinated and charged them for the trip, Mexican authorities say.” (“Migrants Are Flocking to the U.S. From All Over the Globe,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/04/2023)“For the second year in a row, arrests by the Border Patrol at the U.S. Southern border surpassed two million. Most of them, almost nine out of 10 apprehensions, are of migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean. But the surge in so-called extracontinental migrants poses a challenge for the U.S. because deporting migrants to Africa and Asia is time-consuming, expensive and sometimes not possible.” (“Migrants Are Flocking to the U.S. From All Over the Globe,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/04/2023)###SENATE REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS CENTERRelated Issues: Immigration, Border SecurityPrintEmailTweetPreviousTHE NEWSROOMSENATE RESOURCESABOUT LEADER McCONNELLFacebookTwitterInstagram
