WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) delivered remarks on the Senate Floor regarding President Biden’s self-manufactured border crisis, and the lack of action from his administration despite record levels of illegal immigration.

Over the weekend, Senator Capito attended a congressional delegation (CODEL) to Mexico, where she met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and visited with intelligence, drug enforcement, and government officials.

Senator Capito’s remarks, as prepared for delivery:

“Mr. President—

“I rise today to talk about a constant issue throughout President Biden’s tenure in the White House, and it’s a subject my Republican colleagues and I highlighted in this same chamber just a few months ago.

“That is the continued lack and disregard for border security in our country.

“Last week, the White House Press Secretary said that when it comes to the Biden administration and border security, ‘We’re going to secure the border and do the work.’

“I wonder what it was that has caused this newfound urgency from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? And, why did it take 785 days to make those comments?

“Maybe it was the record 2.7 million migrant encounters in Fiscal Year 22? Could it be the more than 4.9 million illegal border crossings since President Biden took office?

“How about, for the first time in history, monthly apprehensions at the southern border have surpassed 150,000 for 24 consecutive months?

“Or that in a season when illegal border crossings are typically lower, Customs and Border Protection encounters rose 2% last month, with heroin seizures increasing 99% and fentanyl seizures increasing 58%?

“Whatever the reason may be, I’d like to welcome the White House to the same page that Republicans have been on since Day One of this administration.

“While my Republican colleagues and I have been sounding consistent alarms about the porousness of our border, the Biden administration has stopped making needed updates to our physical border system, leaving gates inoperational and open, halted deportations, and has been inconsistent in implementing effective policies that kept illegal border crossings under 150,000 the four consecutive years prior.

“There is no denying that this crisis is simply self-manufactured.

“Maybe most encompassing of their priorities regarding the security of our country is that the Department of Homeland Security is one of the few agencies facing an overall budget cut under the president’s latest budget proposal.

“In an age where it seems that President Biden and Congressional Democrats cannot spend enough, they decide to make room for more spending and their radical priorities by putting the agency in charge of defending our homeland on the chopping block first.

“I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t seem like something an administration who is ‘going to secure the border’ should be doing.

“Perhaps even more alarming are the comments made by the DHS Secretary regarding their budget allotment.

“Secretary Mayorkas outlines six priorities in his budget summary that he claims the agency can work to accomplish with the help of the budget.

“Toward the top of the list is: ‘Invest in Climate.’

“The second-to-last priority? ‘Help Secure the Border.’

“That’s simply unacceptable. Especially as migrant encounters at the southern border in Fiscal Year 23 are already outpacing the record set in Fiscal Year 22.

“My colleagues and I hear the Biden administration loud and clear: Securing the border has not been, and never will be, a priority for President Biden or his Department of Homeland Security.

“What makes this admission so devastating is that, while the administration continues to balk at serious attempts to secure the southern border, countless Americans die at the hands of illicit drugs that make their way into our communities through our southern border.

“Last month alone, 2,282 pounds of fentanyl and 10,333 pounds of methamphetamine were seized at the southern border. That amount of fentanyl is the equivalent of 517 million lethal doses.

“With a border patrol stretched unfathomably thin with very little support from the administration, there is no telling the amount of drugs that are getting through undetected.

“Just last month, I spoke in this chamber regarding a recent drug bust in my home state of West Virginia.

“As investigators from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of West Virginia recovered cocaine, meth, and fentanyl, they discovered that these deadly substances had been shipped directly from the U.S.-Mexico border to Ohio via tractor-trailer.

“The connection between the southern border crisis and our addiction epidemic back home couldn’t be any clearer!

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Every state is a border state.

“While President Biden and his administration continue to put confusing and often conflicting words before action (if any action at all) my colleagues and I continue to make a concerted effort to get to the bottom of this chaos.

“Just this past weekend, I joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Mexico City, where we met with Mexico’s President Lopez Obrador.

“While there, we held meetings on the United States’ security posture with regard to Mexico, the chaos at our border, the devastating impacts of fentanyl on our communities, and the violence and trafficking perpetrated by Mexican cartels.

“All of these issues are top concerns for West Virginians and Americans.

“It is clear that Mexico needs to continue to address corruption at ports of entry and focus on fentanyl precursors from China that are coming into their country.

“I was proud that we secured a commitment from President Lopez Obrador that their administration will confront China regarding fentanyl precursors being shipped into their country.

“This is a major step in cutting fentanyl trafficking in the U.S. at its source, and is needed to alleviate the chaos and corruption currently happening at the border between our countries.

“There is no way to deny that both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are stressed beyond belief.

“We are facing historic levels of illegal migration, and we must continue to address these challenges with both urgency and a willingness to work together.

“As my Republican colleagues and I will continue to make clear today, Republicans stand for solutions and not spending, Republicans stand for action, and Republicans stand for border security.

“I encourage President Biden to join us in this effort and work towards bipartisan border solutions that are effective, support our border patrol officers, and save countless lives.

“With that, I yield the floor.”