WASHINGTON – Today on the floor, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) recapped his trip to the Rio Grande Valley with Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Barrasso (R-WY), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and urged the Biden administration to end its catch-and-release policies. Excerpts of Sen. Cornyn’s remarks are below, and video can be found here.

“Last Thursday, I traveled back to my home state of Texas, but this time to the U.S.-Mexico border along with Senator Cruz, my colleague from Texas, as well as three of our non-Texas Senate colleagues, Senators Barrasso, Lee, and Ricketts.”

“President Biden’s border policies have made it so that people from anywhere in the world can come to the southern border, say the magic words, and be released into the United States.”

“America’s southern border is the world’s worst-kept secret.”

“If we’re going to deliver consequences, which means to deter more people from coming, that means ending catch and release – which is the policy of the Biden administration – and removing people who have no legal reason to remain in the United States.”

“Until the administration starts deterring would-be migrants with frivolous asylum claims from even approaching our border, we will remain in a constant state of crisis.”

“I want to thank the many men and women in the Rio Grande Valley who took the time out of their schedule to speak with us. Their input is absolutely invaluable to the work of the Senate, and I am extremely grateful to each of them. I want to especially thank the law enforcement officers who are on the front lines of this crisis.”

“As long as a flood of humanity is coming across the border at this pace, it doesn’t matter how many Border Patrol agents or immigration judges we have. It won’t be enough. The only way to address this crisis is by deterring more illegal immigration, and the simplest way to do that is by delivering consequences for entering the country illegally.”