Andy Biggs

Mr. BIGGS

Mr. BIGGS. And that was not organic?

Mr. BIGGS. I agree with you 100 percent. If they would enforce our law, we wouldn't need to be standing here. We had the Attorney General today come in.

Mr. BIGGS. We asked him some pointed questions. How many prosecutions? Is it still illegal? Yes, it is still illegal to come into the country. Are you prosecuting anybody? Well, I suspect the answer is, no, they are not prosecuting anybody, but they are not detaining anybody either. The law, under title 8, says you must detain unless there is some legal exemption from detention. The vast majority that are coming across, the Haitians--we heard about 10,000 to 12,000 that Secretary Mayorkas admitted to. They only removed 2,000, and the real number was between 26,000 and 30,000 that actually flowed through Del Rio, Mr. Roy. What happened to the other 20-some-odd thousand? Well, they are now released into the interior of the United States of America. That is what is happening. This catch and release program is another contravention of our law.

Mr. BIGGS. That is where it is. That is where the fire is starting, right there at the level of the people. And if we are going to save this country--I tell people all the time--it is going to come from the grassroots. It is going to come from the people. It is going to take off into the local jurisdictions in the States. If you think that you are going to save this Nation with the United States Congress, you are sadly mistaken. It is the States. It is the individuals. It is the families. It is the people who love this country, and they are going to keep fighting us back. I am with you 100 percent on that.

Mr. BIGGS. When you say that, I am reminded of the surge of 2019. That surge in 2019 happened. I know you went down to the border multiple times.

Mr. BIGGS. I went down to the border multiple times. I took codels down to the border so folks could see how bad it was. That was my President.

Mr. BIGGS. You know what? He was trying to enact policies to stop that. They brought lawsuits to prevent stopping that. Now that their administration has basically adopted an open borders policy, a dangerous policy for the people coming across, a national security issue for us, a national security threat for us, it is crickets?

Mr. BIGGS. There are several. Title 42 came along a little bit later, though. The most effective were the remain in Mexico policy and the agreements with the Northern Triangle states. There were no incentives in these care packages that came along of $1,400 every time anybody came in illegally. He started building the fence. He stopped the catch and release. He ramped up the due process speed. He tried to get those folks with the false asylum claims in, get them due process, and get them removed. He was actually removing people who had removal orders. We got 1.2 million people who had due process with removal orders in this country today, and this administration has told the ICE officers: Don't go out and find them. Don't enforce those removals. Those policies were actually working, and title 42 when that came in, that finished it off. But do you know what you had most of all, Mr. Speaker? You had a President who said: Do not come, you are not welcome.

Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, when you think about it, in 2018 we swore in 830,000 new U.S. citizens. In 2019 it was about 800,000. That is kind of where it sits every year. I had a young man who worked for me; his family were immigrants from Mexico. Thirteen years it took for them to get citizenship--13 years. And if they would have crossed the border illegally with the current Democrat plan, they would have gotten amnesty. Mr. Speaker, think about that. Good friends of ours, our neighbors, same situation, 12, 14 years to get citizenship. And do you know what, Mr. Speaker? I have to get back to this caravan that is coming up. Mr. Speaker, what do you think 95,000 people will do to a town of Del Rio's size, which I think is 30,000, 36,000, something like that; or Yuma which is a town the size of 80,000; or how about the town of Douglass; or Naco, about 3,000; or Douglass, about 15,000? What happens when they come in there? We don't have facilities. They get processed and released. That is what happens.

Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is right, 100 percent. Mr. Speaker, think about the drug trafficking right now. When the cartels want to bring in drugs, they flood a zone. Del Rio, they put all the Haitians there. Mr. Speaker, 224 miles of border went unprotected--unprotected--for 8 days. They had cameras, but they didn't have any bodies to go arrest these people bringing the drugs in. We have got places in Arizona for 62 miles with absolutely the only fencing being a vehicle barrier. We have got people coming in who are going through mountains. We have mountains filled with scouts watching and telling these drug carriers where they are coming in. They come on up, they pop out on Interstate 8 and the intersection of Interstate 10 just south of Phoenix. It is the number one drug trafficking corridor in the country. They spit this stuff out all over the country, and now they are moving into pills. They are moving into pills, counterfeit pills, and we have no idea--they are made by some dude down in a garage.

Mr. BIGGS. Just on that, I have got to comment on this because when the gentleman said he had an American citizen, the driver, as an employee of the cartel, we see that all up and down the border, and they want to get youth to do it as well because they are not going to be prosecuted.

Mr. BIGGS. They are recruiting youth because they are not going to be prosecuted as adults. They are going to get off easier.

Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I agree 100 percent. We have other places where the employees are fighting back. You have got the Chicago police union. God bless them.

Mr. BIGGS. Guess what is happening, Mr. Speaker? The mayor there is trying to put pressure on them. Guess what, Mr. Speaker? Indiana cities are offering jobs to those Chicago police officers. If they come here, we are not going to mandate that.

Mr. BIGGS. But doggone it, it should not be mandated by a tyrannical government. And this is the tip of the spear on a fascist-style government, in my opinion.

Mr. BIGGS. Amen. People say, looking around, they get so depressed and frustrated when they see the horrible and horrific impacts of the policies coming out of this administration, not the least of which is the curtailing of their freedoms.

Mr. BIGGS. The gentleman from Texas talks and reminds us of all of this, and we are seeing it. Like my friend, I keep a folder in my computer of story after story of people fighting back saying: No. We are not going to kowtow; we are not going to bow down to this tyranny. It gives me hope, and it gives us the optimism to carry on and keep up the fight because this country was born on freedom, and it is going to continue. We will see a comeback of freedom. Like Ronald Reagan said, it may not be in your genes, but you have to fight it. For every generation it is a new fight to keep freedom, and this is our fight today.

Mr. BIGGS. One of the only good things about the COVID outbreak was that parents got to see what the kids were learning for a change, and when they saw it, they said: This is not what I want my kid to learn. And they started standing up. Do you know what, Mr. Speaker? It is working. But do you know what is happening? Right now, we have got an Attorney General who has basically said: We are going to stop those protests, we are going to stop that communication that is First Amendment messaging that you give as parents to the school boards. That is not the American way. That is the tyranny, and that is the fascism we are fighting about. That is what you and I were fighting with the Attorney General today about. And doggone it, we have got to stand up, and those parents need to be able to stand up, express themselves, and express their protest.

Mr. BIGGS

Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. BIGGS

Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BIGGS

Mr. BIGGS. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my amendment reaffirming the importance of the U.S. Israel alliance. At a time when the Middle East is in constant turmoil, the United States needs strong allies like Israel. Allies who are stable, dependent, and a force for good in the region. Effective foreign policy in the Middle East begins with an acknowledgment of Israel as one of our Nation's strongest allies. As Israel continues to confront security challenges, particularly with Iran, it is in America's national strategic interest to continue to offer security assistance to Israel. For nearly 75 years, Israel has been a constant and stable ally in a region devoid of stability. With the rise of Iran, the Taliban, and China's growing influence in the region, the United States and Israel must continue to stand together against these monstrous regimes. Since its creation in 1948, Israel and the United States have been bonded together through our common values of freedom, prosperity, and constitutional norms. At a time when Israel is facing assaults and threats from tyrannical regimes, the United States Congress must send a strong, unflinching message that we remain united with our friends and allies just as we have for nearly 75 years. My amendment provides a full endorsement from the U.S. Congress on the importance of the United States-Israel relationship. We unequivocally stand with Israel.

Mr. BIGGS

Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BIGGS

Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BIGGS

Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.