Grothman: Failed Biden Administration Border Policies Are Harming American Communities

WASHINGTON –Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) delivered opening remarks at a joint subcommittee field hearing titled “Biden’s Border Crisis and Its Effect on American Communities.” In his opening statement, Subcommittee Chairman Grothman pointed out how the Biden Administration’s failed policies have caused a catastrophe along our southwest border and harmed communities across the country. He blasted Democrat members of the subcommittees for failing to attend the field hearing, underscoring their lack of desire to exercise oversight of the humanitarian and national security crisis along the southern border. Subcommittee Chairman Grothman closed by thanking the witnesses for appearing before the subcommittees to hear how the Biden Administration’s immigration policies have affected border communities and the nation.

Below are Chairman Grothman’s remarks as prepared for delivery.

Good afternoon and welcome to our joint subcommittee hearing on how the Biden Administration’s immigration policies have impacted border communities and communities across the country.

I want to thank my colleague, Mr. Andy Biggs, for his leadership on this issue and for his willingness to join me in conducting this hearing.

And I want to thank my colleagues for making the time to fly out here to learn more about this issue with me.

It couldn’t be any more appropriate that we are here in the Tucson sector because U.S. Border Patrol apprehended over 40,000 illegal immigrants in the Tucson sector during the month of July, the highest in 15 years.

Even though not all of us are representing southwest border states, we understand that illegal immigration impacts every community.

The Biden Administration continues to lean into failed policies that caused a catastrophe along our southwest border.

This is an issue that requires oversight.

Under this majority, the House Oversight Committee has now held five Congressional hearings—four in this subcommittee alone—on border issues.

We have conducted seven transcribed interviews with Chief Patrol Agents from sectors along the southwest border. 

And we have sent many demands for documents and information to the Department of Homeland Security and other relevant agencies to provide transparency.

We intend to understand why the crisis at our southern border is only getting worse, even as more and more American taxpayer dollars are committed to the humanitarian and security response.

Take notice, none of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have decided to join this hearing today despite an open invitation to participate.

The Democrats, along with President Biden, do not see the crisis along our southern border as a problem worth spending any time addressing.

In fact, despite President Biden claiming that his administration would “bring transparency and truth back to the government to share the truth, even when it’s hard to hear…,” the Biden Administration has actively tried to hide the truth from the American people when it comes to our border security and the crisis they have engineered.  

Disclosures made in litigation between the Biden Administration and Florida and Texas show that at least two million illegal aliens have been released into the United States under the Biden Administration.

In Fiscal Year 2023 through June, Customs and Border Protection personnel have encountered 2.3 million inadmissible aliens at Ports of Entry and between Ports of Entry—almost as many encountered in the entirety of Fiscal Year 2022.

Additionally, The CBP One smartphone app was created and launched in 2020 during the pandemic to facilitate lawful trade and travel for those with legitimate business before the agency. 

However, the Biden Administration now uses the CBP One app to let hundreds of thousands of inadmissible aliens into the country—overwhelming officers at the ports of entry and leaving vulnerabilities in our nation’s national security.

The Biden Administration touts a recent reduction in illegal border crossings between ports of entry as a success, but the fact of the matter is that illegal crossings are still too high, and the Biden Administration has simply allowed thousands of inadmissible aliens to enter at ports of entry and apply for parole using the CBP One App.

The Biden Administration’s propaganda machine calls these unlawful parole programs “lawful pathways.”

Make no mistake, these so-called “lawful pathways” are anything but lawful and are a complete abuse of limited parole authority provided under the Immigration and Nationality Act statute.

When the Biden Administration isn’t actively breaking our immigration laws, they pretend that everything is fine, repeating their tired rhetoric that they have created a “safe, orderly, humane” immigration system. 

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Look no further than how the Biden Administration has mismanaged an influx of unaccompanied alien children, many of whom have been subjected to horrible abuses by unrelated sponsors who trafficked them into forced labor to pay off smuggling debts.

Earlier this year, I chaired a National Security Subcommittee hearing where the Office of Refugee Resettlement Director testified about their work to assist unaccompanied alien children.

It was clear that the Biden Administration prioritized speed over safety and failed to properly screen sponsors to assist in temporary care for unaccompanied minors.

It was clear that the unaccompanied minors coming into this country face enormous pressure to work illegal, full-time jobs to either support themselves and their families abroad, or to pay off debts to the cartels or their sponsor.

And it was clear that employees and contractors who raised alarm bells were retaliated against and silenced.

Countless children—and I say countless because the Administration couldn’t keep track of tens of thousands of these children —are now being exploited across the country, as a direct result of the chaos unleashed on the border. 

It is vital that the Biden Administration continues to take steps to deter illegal immigration and reduce the impact of human trafficking on vulnerable children.

Today, we will explore how the Biden Administration’s immigration policies have affected our border communities and the nation.

Our witnesses today will discuss how the reversal of deterrent-focused illegal immigration policies have had an adverse effect on Americans’ security, businesses, and livelihoods.

We will also hear from experts on the big picture issues created by Biden Administration immigration policies and how these decisions have implications of the future of immigration policy.

Thank you to everyone who traveled from near and far to address this important issue, and I look forward to your testimonies today.