WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Carlos A. Giménez spoke on the House floor to urge the passage of H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023. This bill provides real solutions, including resuming construction of the border wall, bolstering the Border Patrol’s workforce, modernizing and enhancing interdiction technology, and demanding transparency from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to tackle Biden’s historic crisis at our southern border. Americans across the nation, no matter how far they are from the border, are affected by this disaster. To ensure the safety of American citizens and restore operational control of our southern border, we must pass the Secure the Border Act of 2023. 

See below for a full transcript of Congressman Carlos A. Giménez’s Floor Speech:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 2. 

We have a crisis at our southern border. And when title 42 expires in just a few hours, That crisis will become a complete catastrophe.

 In an effort to play petty politics, the Biden Administration and Secretary Mayorkas have traded many effective policies implemented by president trump, for chaotic, unorderly, and inhumane migration.

I arrived to the United States with my family shortly after the communist takeover of our native homeland: Cuba.

 I understand the plight of many of those who are fleeing socialist regimes in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua because I too am an exile. I too am an immigrant.

We have legal processes already in-place for people to immigrate to America, legally, and solicit political asylum, legally.

But what the Biden Administration is doing, is offensive, cruel, and inhumane.

Lethal fentanyl is flooding our border. Killing nearly 100,000 Americans every year.

85,000 migrant children are unaccounted for and many are being subjected to forced labor and child sex trafficking.

The lack of enforcement of our border is incentivizing illegal migration and enriching corrupt, Mexican drug cartels that extort the most vulnerable.

While the Biden Administration endangers the American people, H.R. 2 tackles the crisis head-on.

• This bill resumes construction of the border wall
• Increases the number of Border Patrol Agents to 22,000
• Increases federal grants to local law enforcement in border states
• Protects migrant children from human trafficking
• Streamlines the asylum process
• And enforces background checks to bar repeat criminal offenders from reentering our country

H.R. 2 provides a solution to the crisis that President Biden has created. 

Secretary Mayorkas and the Biden administration have failed to protect America and our country is more dangerous than ever before.

Watch Congressman Carlos A. Gimenez Speech HERE. 

Congressman Carlos A. Giménez serves as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Maritime Security. He is the only Cuban-born Member of the 118th Congress, having been forced from his homeland shortly after the Communist takeover of the island. Rep. Giménez represents Miami-Dade County and the Florida Keys. Rep. Giménez serves on the House Armed Services Committee, Homeland Security Committee, and the Select Committee on China.