Washington, D.C. - In case you missed it, today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik spoke on the House Floor about her resolution to condemn Kamala Harris for her role as Joe Biden’s open border czar and their failed policies which have created the most catastrophic open border crisis in history.
View a transcript of her remarks below:
“I rise to condemn Vice President Kamala Harris for her failed and dangerous policies as Joe Biden's border czar that caused the most catastrophic border crisis in modern history. No matter what congressional district you go to, the number one issue facing Americans is Kamala Harris’ open border crisis. And by every metric, Kamala Harris has failed to secure our borders, instead advancing Far Left Democrats’ failed open border policies and the needs of illegal immigrants over the safety of Americans.
This resolution condemns Kamala Harris’ role as Joe Biden's open border czar and affirms that the American people deserve elected officials who understand the gravity of the crisis at the border and who will work to secure the border.
Now Democrats will try to run from this record, but they cannot hide. Joe Biden’s open border czar Kamala Harris and every elected Democrat is responsible for this border crisis along with every other aspect of Joe Biden’s failed and feckless record which brought not only the border crisis, but skyrocketing Bidenflation, surging violent crimes, chaos and weakness around the world.
We all remember the widely publicized delegation that Vice President Kamala Harris conducted and led saying, ‘Do not come. Do not come.’ And millions of illegals poured into our country since then because of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s Administration’s unconstitutional, illegal, executive actions, wiping away President Trump's effective border security policies which created the most secure border in modern history. The American people know that.
In fact, just last month, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced over 130,000 illegal immigrant encounters at our Southern Border in June. This is roughly 4,300 illegal encounters at our Southern Border a day which is four times more than the definition of a ‘crisis’ set by Obama’s DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson. So far this fiscal year, there have been 93 individuals whose names appear on the terrorist watchlist who were stopped trying to enter the U.S. illegally between ports of entry at the Southern Border. That’s over 500 since Kamala Harris was assigned the border czar role.
And on our Northern Border in the Swanton Sector which I represent, I have seen firsthand with the Border Patrol the disastrous consequences of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s Administration’s failed Far Left open border agenda which caused a historic surge in illegal crossings–the likes of which we have never seen on a Northern Border before including individuals on the terrorist watchlist. And this is not just a national security crisis. It is a humanitarian crisis. Under Kamala Harris’ role as Joe Biden‘s border czar, nearly 80,000 minors have been lost, left, slipped through the cracks. This is also part of the violent crime crisis surge concerning every single American. Look in Upstate New York. A 21-year-old innocent girl was killed by an illegal and buried in a Syracuse public park. A 15-year-old innocent girl was raped by an illegal in Albany County all because of Kamala Harris’ failed policies as open border czar.
Make no mistake, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are to blame for this historic crisis. Their policies stopped the construction of the border wall, ended President Trump’s Remain in Mexico, and released the largest number of illegals in the United States in history. Since Kamala Harris became the open border czar, monthly encounters have surpassed even the highest month under President Trump. The number of illegals released into the country have skyrocketed. Former U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz stated that during his two years in the position, he had never once spoken to Vice President Harris. Even worse, Vice President Harris has never even spoken with the current border patrol chief since he was appointed in July 2023. This is unacceptable.
The American people have had enough. They know that the only way to fix this historic crisis is by returning to President Trump’s effective border security policies. That is why House Republicans passed H.R. 2, the strongest border security bill in history, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, that will put an end to this catastrophic border crisis caused by Joe Biden and his open border czar Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris has failed in overseeing Americans’ safety by refusing to secure the border. She has proved that she is unfit to lead, and I strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.”
###
