LIVE: Biden Visits Southern Border

Good afternoon. Before we start, I'd like to say a few words about the devastating wildfires that are scorching Texas panhandle and northwest Oklahoma. You know, yesterday, one of the biggest fire events in Texas history, with more than one million, more than one million acres of Texas land burned. From the start, I directed my team to do everything possible to help protect the people in the communities threatened by these fires. In response to specific requests made from the state, we already have more than 500 federal personnel here working on fire suppression. That includes the deployment of 100 federal firefighters and more on the way, as well as dozens of additional fire engines, air tankers, small planes, helicopters to help fight the flames. And FEMA has already guaranteed that Texas and Oklahoma will be reimbursed for the cost of keeping folks safe, and we're grateful for the brave first responders risking their lives to save others. And we urge, we urge folks to listen to the warnings from the local officials, listen to them. I've flown over a lot of these wildfires since I've been president. Matter of fact, I've been in a helicopter in the west and the southwest and northwest, flown over more land burned to the ground, all the vegetation gone, than the entire state of Maryland in square footage. The idea there's no such thing as climate change, I love that, man. I love some of my Neanderthal friends who still think there's no climate change. Well, my administration is going to keep building on the progress we've made fighting climate crisis, and we're going to keep help folks rebuild themselves in the wake of these disasters. And we rebuild to the standards that are up, the up-to-date standards and building codes and the rest, because a lot of, if you fly over these areas that are burned to the ground, you'll see in the midst of 20 homes that are just totally destroyed, one home sitting there because it had the right roof on it. And anyway, since I took office, FEMA's provided Texas alone over $13 billion, $13 billion in three years in disaster relief after fires and winter storms across this state. When disasters strike, there's no red state or blue state where I come from. They're just communities and families looking for help. So we're standing with everyone, everyone affected by these wildfires. I'm going to continue to help you respond and recover. Now turning to the purpose of my visit, I want to thank Congressman Gonzalez. There you are, pal. I thanked him for the passport into his district, but he's been a great partner. I also want to thank Mayor Cowan for his partnership, and I want to thank County Judge Trevino for over 30, and over 30 local officials who've joined us here today. No one, no one works harder for a safe, secure border than all of you. And Secretary Mayorkas has joined us today, and he's joined by seven mayors in cities and towns across South Texas, four county judges here from across the state. I told the county judge that I used to be a county official. That's the hardest job in American politics. You know why? They think you can do everything, you don't have the budget, so anyway. And the two leaders from the Texas legislature, State House Leader Trey is here, Trey Martinez Fischer, and the State Senate Leader Carol Alvadero. And look, and all the other local officials that are here today, I want to say thanks. Folks, it's real simple. It's time to act. It's long past time to act. I just received a briefing from the Border Patrol at the border, as well as Immigration and Enforcement, Asylum Officers, and they're all doing incredible work under really tough conditions. Really tough conditions. They told me what they, what you already know, and we already know. They desperately need more resources. Say it again, they desperately need more resources. Need more agents, more officers, more judges, more equipment in order to secure our border. Folks, it's time for us to move on this. We can't wait any longer. Folks, on my first day as President, I introduced a bill I sent to Congress, a comprehensive plan to fix the broken immigration system and to secure the border. But no action was taken. Then months ago, my team began a serious negotiation in a bipartisan group of senators, Democrat leading conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats, and it resulted in a compromise bill. It's the toughest set of border security reforms we've ever seen in this country. It's pretty basic. With this deal, we could hire 1,500 additional border security agents, 1,500 additional officers, and between ports of entry. For the last four years, staffing has been roughly that, flat, just flat. Agents working overtime, spending long hours patrolling the border, making major sacrifices. And I know it takes a big toll on them and their families. That's why in December I signed a bill finally getting border patrol agents, which I've been pushed by and reminded by the congressman, overtime pay they deserve, finally getting overtime pay. I mean, it's ridiculous it took this long. It was a long past time, and I was proud to do it, but we need to do more. It's time to step up. It's time to step up, provide them with significantly more personnel and capability. We also need more immigration judges to help handle the backlog. There are 2 million cases, backlog of 2 million cases. This bipartisan deal would provide funding for 100 more immigration judges immediately. It would also establish new, efficient, and fair process for the government to consider asylum claims for those arriving on the border. Today, the process to get a decision on an asylum claim takes 5 to 7 years. Now, you all know it down here, but the people around the country don't understand it. It's far too long. You come in, you say, you say, I have a credible fear, and we've changed that standard to make it harder. We want to change it to make it harder. And what happens? You say, well, okay, you can come in the country, but come back in 5 to 7 years, maybe as many as 8 years, and you get a hearing from before a judge to determine whether you can stay. This will encourage more people. This encourages more people to come to the country. If they get by the first, say, they got another 5, 7, 8 years before they have to do anything because they know they cannot handle the caseloads quickly, and they'll be able to stay in this country in the meantime. With new policies in this bill, an addition of 4,300 additional asylum officers will be able to reduce that process to less than 6 months. That would have a serious deterrent effect on those coming north. When the criminal gangs say, we'll get you north, what's 8,000 bucks, they say, no, wait, let me get this straight. I'm going to go north. It's going to cost me 6, 8, probably closer to 8, I guess, thousand dollars equivalent. And I'm going to get there, and in 6 months, they may be able to get rid of me. I don't know, man. 6 months, 7 years, two different things. The person who's thinking about entering the United States understands the cases to be decided in a few weeks or months, instead of 5 to 7 years, they're less likely to come in the first place. They're not going to pay the cartels thousands of dollars to make that journey. Knowing that will be turned around quickly. Look, and we also need more cutting-edge inspection machines to detect and stop fentanyl from entering the United States of America. A year ago, I stood at the border in El Paso, and I watched these machines at work. They were able to detect everything from fentanyl to weapons to people being smuggled in cargo containers. This compromise bill would provide an additional $424 million for 100 more of these machines and could save lives in the process. This compromise legislation would also give me, as president, or any of the next president, emergency authority to temporarily shut down the border between ports of entry when the numbers of immigrants and migrants overwhelm the border, straining the Border Patrol's ability to process them. At the same time, at our legal ports of entry, like here in Brownsville, we're making investments in infrastructure. My bipartisan infrastructure law is going to provide nearly $4 billion new dollars to boost security, to ease waiting times at land and ports of entry like Brownsville. And I want to thank, again, Congressman Gonzales for helping me get that through and get that passed in the law, that you get the money for the – that's how you get the money for the Gateway Bridge, from that fund. Folks, the bipartisan border security deal is a win for the American people, and it's a win for the people of Texas, and it's fair for those who legitimately have a right to come here to begin with. It's a win for the people of Brownsville, and I believe that's why the Border Patrol Union endorsed it. I believe that's why the National Chamber of Commerce – the National Chamber of Commerce endorsed it, not known as the Democratic Organization with a capital D, but look, and that's why the Wall Street Journal endorsed it as well. This is a truly bipartisan initiative. That's why the bipartisan South Texas Alliance of Cities endorsed it. Folks, I didn't get – I didn't get everything I wanted in that compromise bipartisan bill, but neither did anybody else. Compromise is part of the process. That's how democracy works. That's how it's supposed to work. Compromise is a very positive step on a critical issue for the country – all those issues for the country. And folks here in Brownsville and all along the border know that. We need to have their backs, your backs. And I want the people to understand clearly what happened here. This bill was in the United States Senate, was on its way to being passed, then it was derailed by rank-and-file politics – rank-partisan politics. The U.S. Senate needs to reconsider this bill, and those senators who oppose it need to set politics aside and pass it on the merits, not on whether it's going to benefit one party or benefit the other party. It's about whether it benefits the American people. It's what the American people deserve. The Speaker of the House needs to put this bill on the floor, because if he put it on the floor unrestricted, it would pass. The majority of Democrats and Republicans in both houses support this legislation, until someone came along and said, don't do that, it'll benefit the incumbent. That's a hell of a way to do business in America for such a serious problem. We need to act. It's time for the speakers and some of my Republican friends in Congress who are blocking this bill to show a little spine, pass a bipartisan – bipartisan – I'm not going to remember bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan – bipartisan to enforce the law and work to secure our border. We have listened to our workforce and, leveraging every available asset, equipped them with new technology, logistical support, innovative tools, 11 new processing facilities, and hundreds of additional processing coordinators and support personnel. We are removing and returning historic numbers of migrants who entered illegally and failed to qualify for relief. Just since mid-May, we have removed or returned more such migrants than in any full fiscal year since 2015. We have provided asylum officers new authority to streamline the asylum claims process, implemented regulatory changes that incentivize migrants to follow safe, orderly, and lawful pathways, and so much more. The importance of passing the bipartisan legislation to fix our broken immigration system and add much-needed resources cannot be overstated, nor can the heroism of our personnel who accomplish so much for our country with so much less than what they need and deserve. Finally, Mr. President, you heard about the difference that cooperation, collaboration, and communication between federal personnel and local officials can make in the efficient and effective enforcement of our laws. Unlike Texas Governor Abbott's efforts to undermine federal border enforcement, the leaders in Brownsville serve as a model of cooperation in addressing, together, the challenges that irregular migration present, all in the service of this community and our country. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you to the public officials here at all levels of government. And thank you to the extraordinary public servants of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is now my pleasure to introduce Congressman Vicente Gonzalez. Thank you all. Thank you all so much for being here this afternoon. Thank you, Secretary Mayorkas. It is my honor to welcome President Joe Biden to the 34th Congressional District of Texas. Let's give him a big, warm welcome. And we hope this is just the beginning of many more visits to our region, not only in this presidency, but in the next. We want to thank him for such critical conversations that we've had on issues that impact us here and across the southern border. But I can't go by without celebrating the recent over $300 million of infrastructure investment that we've received right here to our congressional district. I know when you travel across the valley, you see this massive infrastructure and roads and bridges, but we especially have received a lot of resources in expanding our ports of entry, our airports, $68 million to deepening and broadening the Port of Brownsville, which will allow larger vessels to come in and more projects to assure that we continue to compete globally in the next generation. And secondly, I'd like to thank folks who are here today who understand that border security is not a Democratic or Republican problem. It's an American problem that requires real bipartisan solutions. And that's why we must enact legislation that enables us to hire more immigration judges, more agents, more infrastructure on our southern border. And the bill that came from the Senate side that the bipartisan border security package would do just that. And it would fix many of the problems that are urging our southern border today. And we need to continue with ideas like that. We need to assure that one former president and a partisan rogue group of members of Congress don't stop this progress and don't alleviate the pressure on our southern border. I continue to urge safe zones in the Congress to create safe zones in places like Guatemala and Panama and possibly Colombia, where migrants can process their asylum claim thousands of miles from our southern border. And it takes the pressure off our southern border and it assures that cartels don't continue to enrich themselves by trafficking people to our southern border. However, we cannot do this without a bipartisan cooperation. And we need to assure that we continue to nudge that small rogue group of members of Congress, of Republican members of Congress, it's not all of them, it's a small group that are putting a stop on important legislation that could create, could really take the pressure off our southern border and create improved conditions here in South Texas and across our region. So rest assured that I will continue to work with President Biden and members of Congress across the aisle to bring policies that will make things better for everyday Americans, but also secure our southern border. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you to all the stakeholders that are here, that joined us this morning. I could not be more proud than to have all of you here today. So God bless South Texas and God bless the United States of America. Mayor. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is John Cowan and I am the mayor of the city of Brownsville. Mr. President, thank you for visiting our beautiful city, the largest city in the Rio Grande Valley. I believe I speak for all of the elected officials here when I say it's an honor to have you here. We stand united in our commitment to protect our communities, secure our border, and uphold our values. I'm a member of the South Texas Alliance of Cities, a group of mayors from South Texas communities. We work in partnership with the federal government, local law enforcement, and nonprofits to address the challenges created by the border issue. We understand the complexities, the diversity of thought on possible solutions, and the compelling need to ensure that immigration is not a wedge issue. As local leaders, we are responsible for our communities, our safety, and well-being. We cannot play politics with this. I am proud of the work we have done in Brownsville to help people entering the country. Our approach, called the Brownsville Model, is as compassionate and humane as it is efficient. It prioritizes dignity and care. For two years in a row, Brownsville has been named one of the 20 safest cities in America. Mr. President, all of us here are overworked and understaffed. In Brownsville, we have assisted over 240,000 migrants since 2021. Our population is just below 200,000. From El Paso to San Antonio to Brownsville, we all need help. So do our federal partners. We cannot afford to wait. We need to pass the Senate's promising bipartisan border bill that you have championed. We've studied it, and it will give cities critical resources to respond humanely to the migrant challenge. Thank you for your leadership. It's a big deal to have the President of the United States in the Rio Grande Valley. And thank you all for visiting beautiful Brownsville, Texas. Thank you.