John Hoeven Decries Fentanyl Crisis, Rails Against 'Harmful Democrat Open Border Policies'

2 days ago

During remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) compared the Trump Administration's border security policies with those of the Biden Administration.

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Transcript

00:00Senator from North Dakota. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise today to join my

00:05colleagues in calling attention to the devastating fentanyl fallout, made

00:10significantly worse by four years of failed Democrat open border policies, and

00:16to note the return of common-sense border security policies

00:22led by Senate Republicans and President Trump. In March, Border Patrol

00:29agents encountered just 7,181 illegal immigrants attempting to cross the

00:35border, the southern border. 7,181. This is in stark contrast compared to just

00:43one year ago, when under President Biden, the total encounters for the month of

00:48March totaled 137,473. That represents a 95%

00:56decrease in crossings, from over a 137,000 to about 7,000. This sharp drop

01:05of illegal encounters is thanks to a new administration and a new Republican

01:11majority in the House and Senate, which has prioritized securing our border by

01:15resuming policies that brought historically low encounters just four

01:20years ago. And I mean, policies that we put in place four years ago that worked

01:25then, we put them back in place, they're working now. So all that discussion on

01:32the part of the Biden administration saying, oh my gosh, they needed some new

01:35law somehow, just isn't so, is it? The numbers make that abundantly clear. And of

01:40course, that means reinstating the migrant protection protocols or the

01:44Remain in Mexico policy, working with other countries to get them to accept

01:49return of their migrants, and resuming construction of the border wall. Again,

01:55common-sense policies. Reinstating these policies helped curb the illegal entry

02:00of individuals at our border, and has begun the process of making our country

02:04safe again. But the work's not done. While taking advantage of the failed border

02:11policies of the prior administration, cartels and other transnational

02:15criminal organizations, or TCOs, flooded the border and gained a criminal

02:21foothold in our country. The presence of the cartels and other bad actors

02:27operating within our borders led to criminal acts like drug trafficking,

02:31human smuggling, and other illegal activities. On his first day in office,

02:37President Trump signed a series of executive orders addressing the border

02:41crisis that have been affecting our country, and has begun the process of

02:46removing criminals who had illegally entered under the previous

02:52administration. These executive actions have served as the first steps in

02:57reversing the catch-and-release policies that allowed members of cartels, gangs,

03:03and violent transnational criminal organizations, like MS-13 and Tren de

03:10Aragua, to remain in the United States while operating criminal enterprises. By

03:17declaring an emergency at the border, DHS, DOD, and DOJ were able to take a

03:23whole-of-government approach, and began working together to identify the

03:27criminals that were illegally operating these networks within our

03:32country. The result of these harmful Democrat open border policies has been

03:39felt by us all, and have turned every state into a border state. Leadership for

03:46the DEA Omaha division, which includes my state, said it plainly and simply, the

03:50repeated presence of fentanyl in our communities is due to outside forces.

03:56Quote, the precursor chemicals are coming from China. They go down to Mexico, and

04:01from there, they're pushed up into our communities. End quote. The numbers

04:07reflect this. 2023 officials in North Dakota seized 21,000 more fentanyl pills

04:14than the year before, 30 pounds more meth, and two and a half times more pounds of

04:20cocaine. Last month, the Republican majorities in both chambers, House and

04:26the Senate, voted to continue funding for key programs at DHS and DOJ that

04:31combat the rise in illicit drugs like fentanyl. Unfortunately, our colleagues

04:37across the aisle voted against that effort. While the United States stands

04:42prepared to take on the scourge of fentanyl that is impacting our citizens,

04:47other countries must step up as well. As a result of the actions taken by this

04:53administration, both Canada and Mexico have begun to be engaged partners on

04:58this issue. In February, the President of Mexico agreed to send 10,000 National

05:03Guard troops to help secure its northern border with the United States, and the

05:08Canadian government has named a fentanyl czar, listed Mexican cartels as terrorist

05:13groups, and launched a Canada-US joint strike force to combat organized crime,

05:18fentanyl, and money laundering. Additionally, the Canadian government has

05:24increased its law enforcement presence at the border with a 56% increase in

05:29border personnel at land borders and ports of entry. CBP officers, border

05:36patrol agents, state, local, and tribal law enforcement are stepping up to take on

05:41the fentanyl crisis at our borders. I urge our Democrat colleagues at

05:47Bipartisan Way to join us and support the effort to continue securing our

05:52border and to go after the criminals that have illegally entered our country

05:56and continue to do harm. With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor.

John Hoeven Decries Fentanyl Crisis, Rails Against 'Harmful Democrat Open Border Policies'

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