U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) last week delivered a speech on the floor of the United States Senate focused on the worsening crisis at the country’s southwest border.
Tuberville in his remarks discussed the impact of President Joe Biden’s unilateral policy rollbacks, cited the unsustainable numbers of migrants flooding across the border and highlighted two measures he recommends the nation should take to address the deteriorating situation.
This continues Tuberville’s strong advocacy for border security since taking office on January 3. Last month, for example, he sent Biden Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas a letter questioning the apparent double standard pertaining to COVID testing for American citizens entering the U.S. versus migrants illegally crossing the border. Tuberville has yet to receive a response, his office noted last week.
“Americans back home are paying attention,” the freshman senator remarked in his nearly 13-minute floor speech. “They are watching what’s going on and seeing how it’s getting worse by the day. The saddest thing is that this was predictable and preventable. Protecting our border and cutting down illegal immigration matters to the people of Alabama and the rest of the country.”
“Alabamians are law-abiding people. We play by the rules, and we expect others to follow them, too,” Tuberville said. “When people break the rules, they have to face the consequences – plain and simple. That’s how our country should operate. By law and order. Enforcing the laws on our books cannot be optional.”
The Lee County resident outlined that the growing security and humanitarian crisis “is a direct result of President Biden … sending a ‘come one, come all’ signal.”
“President Biden has put forward an immigration proposal that would completely up-end our existing immigration policy and give out American citizenship like its candy,” Tuberville explained. “But before that, he made sure to lay the groundwork with executive orders. President Biden quickly reversed many of President Trump’s most successful border control policies with a stroke of his pen, and his Secretary of Homeland Security, whose department oversees immigration policy and border security, has made it clear he’s not interested in enforcing existing laws. We’ve seen the dangerous effects of President Biden’s policies already – and it’s barely been two months.”
“The data shows the number of illegal immigrants trying to cross the southern border is going up during a month when historically apprehensions are low. In fact, the staggering numbers of people arrested crossing the border illegally this January is the most any January has seen in more than a decade,” he added. “President Biden decided to message to the world that our border’s open – we shouldn’t be surprised that people showed up. We all saw this coming. We all warned that reversing President Trump’s policies would lead to a national security and humanitarian crisis.”
Tuberville later listed two policy recommendations to address the situation.
“President Biden’s policies at the border are reckless,” Alabama’s junior senator commented. “The American people can see it for themselves and the data proves how bad the situation has become in such a quick time. We can and should take positive proactive concrete steps to secure our border and strengthen our national security. There are two big items to address right away.”
He advised, “Number one, we should maintain the migrant protections protocol program… It was successful, hugely successful. The number of apprehensions along the border went down when people realized they couldn’t just come walking into the United States. It was exactly the kind of message we want to send: our borders are not wide open. You must follow the rules. You must stay in line.”
“We need to continue building the wall. My constituents expect me to hammer this every day. A strong wall will help prevent illegal migrants crossing over our border between ports of entry and avoid law enforcement,” Tuberville stated.
He subsequently underscored that “any immigration reform proposal must include policies that strengthen our lawful immigration system and protect our nation’s borders.”
“So far, President Biden’s policies do neither,” Tuberville lamented.
“What I, and the people of Alabama, will not stand for is a refusal to enforce the laws of today,” he concluded. “It puts our country at risk and encourages migrants to seek dangerous paths to enter our country instead of the legal paths provided. Allowing illegal immigration to go unchecked fundamentally undermines the rule of law in this country. Without laws, and without borders where those laws apply, a sovereign nation ceases to exist.”
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
