The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement held a hearing on March 7, 2024. The hearing, “Presidential Power to Secure the Border,” examined how the Biden Administration has systematically dismantled effective border security measures and has stymied aggressive enforcement of the immigration laws in the interior of the United States. The hearing will also examine how President Biden can mitigate the border crisis by using mechanisms that currently exist within immigration law.
During the hearing, Rep. Jim Jordan showed how President Joe Biden opened the borders, causing the ensuing crisis.
Chairman McClintock: Chairman Jordan.
Rep. Jim Jordan: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Hamilton did Joe Biden caused this problem?
Gene Hamilton: Yes.
Jordan: He not only caused the problem, he told us he was going to cause the problem, didn’t he?
Hamilton: He absolutely did.
Jordan: At the Democrat debate in 2020, here’s what then candidate Joe Biden said, migrants should, quote immediately surge to the border. They took him up on his offer. So the idea that the Democrats say, oh no, no, it was Trump who caused the problem, it’s Republicans who caused the problem, it’s climate change that caused the problem, is B.S.. Joe Biden caused it and he told us he was going to do it. And what does that resulted in? 8 million migrants coming into the country in three years and 47 days. 8 million. And we’re on pace to get the 12 million. That is the magnitude of the problem.
Mr. Hamilton, has that magnitude of that, that volume of individuals coming to our country, has that put a strain on the United States, on communities and everything else?
Hamilton: Absolutely. Anyone can look and talk to mayors, talk to local communities, talk to governors and see the results themselves, for themselves . . .
Jordan: It put a strain on schools.
Hamilton: Yes.
Jordan: Remember in New York, when they told parents, your kids can’t come to school today because we have to put migrants in the schools, they’re going to have to learn remotely.
Hamilton: Correct.
Jordan: To put a strain on hospitals.
Hamilton: Yes.
Jordan: How about law enforcement?
Hamilton: Yes.
Jordan: All kinds of law enforcement concerns, not just the attacks on law, but all kinds of other concerns. Right?
Hamilton: Correct.
Jordan: Concern on safety in communities around our country, not just on the border. Did it put a concern on safety? How about municipal budgets? Is there a concern there?
Hamilton: Yes.
Jordan: Because of this problem that Joe Biden told us he was going to cause and actually cost and migrants died in this journey coming here because Joe Biden told them to surge to our border and come into our country.
Hamilton: Yes.
Jordan: Kids, women, all kinds of terrible things happen to them.
Hamilton: Absolutely.
Jordan: And then back to your opening statement. Have Americans died?
Hamilton: Yes.
Jordan: Laken Riley, Kate Stanley and others, right?
Hamilton: Correct.
Jordan: That is the magnitude of this problem. And we’re on pace. We’re on pace to get to 12 million in the four years of Joe Biden being president. I tell people all that is equivalent to the entire population of our state. And we’re a big state. We’re the seventh largest state in this great country, 12 million people.
So here’s here’s where I think that we know the cause of the problem. We know the magnitude of the problem. What’s the solution? Seems to me we call time out. Seems to me we say no more. Let’s just let’s not exacerbate the problem. Let’s just say time out. And I’ve advocated for a simple sentence that I want you guys to comment on. I’ve advocated for a sentence in an appropriation bill that says no money can be used to process anymore or release into the country, any new migrants. What do you think about that, Mr. Hamilton?
Hamilton: I think that would be a wonderful idea.
Jordan: And don’t you think the America, I’ve never seen in my time, I’ve been in politics a few years now. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an issue with this intensity. We’ve got a time with record inflation. Take your family out to dinner in the Biden American economy right now. You take your family out to dinner. It’s 300 bucks just to take to take your family out for a nice meal, in this Biden inflation world.
But what’s the number one issue in polling across the board? It’s the border. That’s how intense this issue is with the American people. Maybe we should just say time out. Let’s stop now. What do you think, Mr. Holman? Should we do that?
Tom Homan: I think we need to secure the border and save lives. And bottom line is, I understand when the congresswoman met with separated families, parents, did you meet with Laken Riley’s parents? How many of them I met with, we got angel moms and dads by the thousands who were separated from their families, but they buried their children because of the open border.
Jordan: I’m all for securing the border. We passed good legislation a year ago that would do that. What I’m saying is when the problem is this, when the magnitude the problem is where it is now. You know, the old line when you’re when you’re when you’re in a hole, quit digging. Right? Like, let’s let’s let’s quit making it worse by allowing more and more people to come into the country. Maybe we should say time out and then focus in on securing the border, of course. But just stop the influx that we see. And that’s what I’m asking you. Do you think that that makes sense now?
Homan: We have to stop the influx.
Jordan: Yep. Mr. Arthur
Andrew Arthur: Mr. Chairman, it’s clear that we have to stop the influx. This is unsustainable. In fact, President Obama did an interview, former President Obama did an interview on ABC, Good morning America, back in September 2021, and he talked about the humanitarian concerns. We’re humanitarian people, that we have instincts for that, but he noted the fact that open borders are unsustainable.
Mr. Chairman, right now we’re seeing the unsustainability of open borders. Cities and towns across the United States. I live in North Carolina. We don’t really have a whole lot of illegal immigrant problems. But the people in North Carolina, when they’re polled, say it’s a huge issue. My neighbors, they tell me that it’s a huge issue because they’re feeling it everywhere.
Jordan: Joe Biden caused the problem. He told us he was going to do it. The magnitude of the problem is so egregious, it’s the number one issue on the minds of the American people. And the solution to the problem can be with Congress. If we would just say we’re not going to fund the processing and releasing of any more migrants into the country. That’s what we could do.
Short of that, we’re going to have to wait for an election, hopefully have President Trump win so we can get back to a chief executive who actually will enforce the border with that I yield back.
