By Brandon Moseley
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) spoke about the issues that have resulted from the Biden administration’s southwest border crisis. Tuberville delivered a speech on the Senate floor, in which he charged, “Never before have we experienced illegal immigration on this scale, and it can all be tracked back to the bad policy decisions of the President.”
“The consequences of this administration’s illogical and inconsistent policies will be felt by Americans for decades,” Tuberville said. “When we allow people to continuously break our laws, we should not be surprised when more and more people join in. We should not be surprised when our laws no longer carry weight or authority."
Tuberville said weak border policies and the Department of Homeland Security's issuance ending worksite enforcement operations for ICE have been detrimental.
"Without the threat of removing illegal workers, this new guidance creates a pull factor, or a magnet, attracting more people to the U.S. through illegal means," he said. "Illegal immigrants come with the knowledge that the consequence for breaking our laws under President Biden is a minimal or nonexistent pattern.”
The Senator said in the past, Democrats have not had such a soft hand on immigration policy.
“In 2005, then-Senator Barack Obama said, ‘We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, unchecked, and circumventing the line of people who are waiting patiently, diligently, and lawfully to become immigrants in this country,’” Tuberville said. “In 2009, Senator Chuck Schumer said, ‘Illegal immigration is wrong, plain and simple … people who enter the United States without permission are illegal aliens and illegal aliens should not be treated the same as people who enter the U.S. legally.’”
Tuberville even quoted President Joe Biden.
“And then, in 2006, then-Senator Joe Biden said, ‘Let me tell you something, folks. People are driving across that border with tons, tons - hear me, tons - of everything from byproducts [from methamphetamine] to cocaine to heroin, and it’s all coming up through corrupt Mexico,’” Tuberville said.
“So, why the change? It’s politics. They’re bending to the pressure from the far-left to abandon enforcement of the laws of this country. And just look at where it has gotten us.”
After hearing about a memo from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Tuberville said a new change would protect those who fraudulently become U.S. citizens.
“U.S. citizenship is the most valuable status that we have in this country — and is coveted around the world," Tuberville said. "It is the reason millions of people immigrate to the U.S. every year and have done so for many generations. They come here with the hope to capitalize on the opportunities this country provides - the freedoms and liberties afforded to its citizens. Allowing people to be naturalized through fraudulent methods devalues our most sacred privilege. It cheapens the inherent principles of our great country.”
Tuberville added that weakened immigration policies have led to success for drug smugglers as well.
“Earlier this year, CBP (Customs and Border Patrol) estimated the cartels make an average of $14 million per day smuggling people and drugs into the U.S.," Tuberville charged. "The cartels are running a multi-billion-dollar business along our border, and the President is just letting it happen.”
To watch Sen. Tuberville’s full speech:
Tuberville is in his first term representing Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
