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STOP PRETENDING
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Crenshaw) for 5 minutes.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Madam Speaker, I rise today because our border is still in crisis. I rise today to bring attention to the dereliction of duty by this President occurring at our southern border. Most of all I rise to ask this: Can we all stop pretending?
Can we stop pretending that this administration deserves any benefit of the doubt, pretending it is a tough situation beyond their control, pretending that this administration, and frankly, the entire Democratic Party have any intention of solving the border crisis. Stop pretending as if this isn't purposeful, because it is.
When every single policy measure that you partake in results in more illegal immigration, well, then it stands to reason using the powers of deduction that maybe you want more illegal immigration. So let's stop pretending otherwise.
And while we are at it, let's also stop pretending that more than a tiny fraction of those illegally crossing our border have any valid claims to asylum whatsoever. We all know it. We all know that they are coming because it is easy and because America is a pretty great place. We all know they were trained by their drug cartel handlers to repeat certain phrases that make them eligible for the asylum process so that they will be given a bus ticket and maybe a court date which they will never show up for.
Let's stop pretending that this isn't just a giant scam, a giant abuse of our well-meaning and generous system.
And also, let's stop pretending mass migration is America's fault. Let's stop pretending to listen to outlandish claims of climate change causing migration or the tired old refrain of, well, it is American imperialistic foreign policy or whatever, and so let's just let everybody in.
And let's stop pretending that this isn't getting exceedingly dangerous for us. It is dangerous for our border agents. It is dangerous for our border communities. It is dangerous for the children being trafficked. It is dangerous for everyday Americans.
At our border communities, crime is rising. There is greater insecurity. There is a spike in COVID cases. And the migrants, who I thought my friends on the other side of the aisle claim to care about, well, they are paying thousands of dollars to smugglers to take them on an exceedingly dangerous journey that often ends in children dead, stranded in the desert, or in the Rio Grande.
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The only people who benefit from all of this are the drug cartels. They make money off the human misery by using asylum-seeking migrants to tie down the border agents so they can move their drugs with little to no risk. These smugglers aren't just bringing your generic pot. They are bringing fentanyl, bringing enough fentanyl to kill every single American.
Finally, let's stop pretending that the Democrats' pro-open border position has anything to do with compassion or kindness. There is nothing compassionate about tent cities, nothing compassionate about children being trafficked. There is nothing compassionate about firing American workers for not getting a COVID shot, putting them out on the street while illegal immigrants flood into our country without even a COVID test and then get treated to a bus ride or a hotel at the expense of the American taxpayer. And then, they probably get hired.
And guess what? There is nothing compassionate about allowing hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants to cut in front of millions of law-abiding potential immigrants around the world. People with actual asylum claims and real persecution are told, well, they are out of luck if they can't just walk across our border. Sorry about your civil war or your religious persecution. We are out of space. The system is just too clogged up now.
Let's stop pretending about all of it. Let's start telling the truth so we can actually solve this crisis.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the President.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 164
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