U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) spoke at a press conference today about the growing crisis at the southern border.
“In the 1990s, I had an opportunity to serve on the southern border as a U.S. Marine. At the time, I couldn’t imagine that the border security challenges we experienced then could grow even worse. But that’s what we have today.
“The 2020 Census registered the population of Marion County, Indiana at 977,000 Hoosiers. This week, we learned that within the next few days, the U.S. Border Patrol will have had over one million encounters with illegal immigrants just over the last six months. This is indeed a crisis. A number of people greater than the entire population of Indianapolis, Indiana, plus Lawrence, Speedway, Southport, and Beech Grove, attempted to enter the United States in half a year.
“What have Washington Democrats done in response to this crisis? They’ve refused to even acknowledge the severity of the problem. Notably, the Biden Administration has presented a budget that shifts money away from border protection. It increases money to help move people through the system, not so we can stop illegal entries, but so that immigration officials can more quickly stamp the hands of those who ultimately get through. The Biden Budget cuts, by 25 percent, the number of beds at ICE detention centers,” said Senator Young.
In October, Senator Young pressed the then-nominee for U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, Chris Magnus, on whether he considered the situation at the southern border to be a crisis, to which he responded, “Does it really matter?” Mr. Magnus has since been confirmed to the position.
To watch the Senator’s full remarks from the press conference, click here.
