Tampa Republic

Washington, D.C. – On May 11, 2023, Congresswoman Laurel Lee (R-FL) spoke on the House Floor in support of H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. This legislation will make improvements to American border security and combat illegal immigration by bolstering infrastructure and technology, increasing the number of Border Patrol agents, and strengthening current law to protect unaccompanied children from human trafficking, among others. This legislation passed the House 219-213. 

Click here to watch Rep. Lee’s remarks 

Congresswoman Lee’sremarks as prepared can be found in full below:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act which is the most comprehensive border bill to reach the House Floor in modern history.

This administration’s border policies have led to a national security and humanitarian crisis at our southern border, turning every community across the country into a border community. Just this week, Border Patrol agents apprehended over 10,000 migrants on both Monday AND Tuesday, the highest single-day totals ever to be recorded. In addition to the influx of illegal immigrants entering our country, this administration’s failure to secure our border has led to a record amount of illegal drugs both around the border and in our communities, and enabled human trafficking and the exploitation of children.

Recently, law enforcement in my community announced authorities had seized enough fentanyl in just a few months to kill every Floridian.  

In addition to drugs flowing into our country, we have seen a tragic flow of unaccompanied minors cross our border, which has led many of them to fall victim to human trafficking, abuse, and mistreatment. A Grand Jury in Florida recently uncovered alarming details about federal agencies losing track of more than 20,000 children, and failing to perform background checks on minors’ sponsors, leading to incidents of human trafficking, exploitation, and child abuse. Allowing an open, lawless border is not humanitarian. When we fail to control our borders, the drug cartels win.

House Republicans know that border security is national security—that is why we must pass the Secure the Border Act. This legislation will increase the number of Border Patrol agents, strengthen current law to protect unaccompanied children, and bolster our border’s infrastructure.  

The time for reform is now. We have a constitutional duty to secure our border and to ensure our communities back home are safe—I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this bill.

Thank you, and I yield back…

Original source can be found here.