Texas Border Business
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) discussed the national security and humanitarian crisis at the southern border and his recent visit with a bipartisan group of Senators to El Paso, Texas. Excerpts of Sen. Cornyn’s remarks are below, and video can be found here.
“I’ve learned a lot from the experts on the ground, and I hope our colleagues, our bipartisan delegation of Senators, did as well.”
“Now, eight Senators, it won’t surprise you, have different views and ideas about how to solve the crisis.”
“Standing together along the border doesn’t mean we agree on everything, but it does mean that we’re interested in finding solutions.”
“It’s not easy to get everybody – or at least a majority – on the same page. And we have the new reality of divided government.”
“But we do have, within our capacity, the ability to try and to achieve consensus, and the art of the possible.”
“We have to be realistic about what can pass the House and earn 60 votes in the Senate. A bill that will pass only one chamber won’t accomplish anything in dealing with this crisis.”
“At this moment, the border crisis is consuming all the oxygen in the room, but this must be addressed before we’ll be able to come to an agreement on any other immigration reform. It’s a prerequisite, a foundation for any larger agreement.”
“As my colleagues and I saw a couple of weeks ago, one of the biggest challenges is processing and holding capacity. This is a feature of the current catch-and-release policies of the Biden administration, not a bug… and it’s being exploited daily by the criminal organizations that continue to get rich smuggling people and drugs across the border.”
“We also need to strengthen border security.”
“A safe and secure border relies on all of these elements. And it’s clear that Congress needs to invest in more resources, but more than that, in correct policies, so that immigration across our border will be safe, orderly, humane, and legal.”
“Given a Republican majority in the House and a Democratic majority in the Senate, we need to be realistic about what it is we might be able to accomplish.”
“That’s what legislating is all about. But the fact is, there’s an unprecedented humanitarian and security crisis at the southern border, and it’s past time for Congress to do something to address it.”
Senator John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, is a member of the Senate Finance, Intelligence, and Judiciary Committees.
