WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Today, Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS), chairman of the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement, delivered the following opening statement in a hearing to examine how the Biden-Harris administration created the worst border crisis in U.S. history by refusing to enforce our nation’s laws, rescinding commonsense border security policies from the first Trump administration, and implementing reckless, open-borders policies in their place.

Watch Chairman Guest’s full opening statement in a hearing entitled, “Part 1: Consequences of Failure: How Biden’s Policies Fueled the Border Crisis.”

As prepared for delivery:
 
Good morning, and welcome to the Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement hearing on how the Biden-Harris administration’s failed border policies fueled a historic crisis at our Southwest border, which the Trump administration is now addressing with bold, long-awaited action. 
 
It is an honor to serve as chairman of this subcommittee, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle—especially with the Ranking Member, the Gentleman from California, Representative Lou Correa—to address the critical challenges facing our nation’s border security. 
 
On January 20, 2021, President Joe Biden, was sworn into office and on that very same day, with a stroke of a pen, he issued executive orders dismantling years of robust border security measures implemented by the first Trump administration. The results were catastrophic. 
 
We have often heard the phase, “those who don’t know history are doomed to repeated it.” 
 
To be clear, this hearing is not about looking backwards but instead it is about learning from past failures so that Congress can work together to pass meaningful and lasting solutions to secure our border.

The policies we put in place today will shape the future and ensure that the failures over the past four years will never be repeated.  
 
Although the Biden-Harris administration is no longer in the White House, its legacy left our nation’s border in tatters. It is the responsibility of this Subcommittee to uncover what happened, identify why it happened, and determine how Congress can work together to implement solutions to prevent a future border crisis.
 
Over the course of four years, the Biden-Harris administration introduced sweeping policy changes that prioritized rapid processing and release over enforcement, thereby dismantling border security policies meant to deter illegal immigration and protect Americans from foreign threats abroad.

The consequences were devastating—as we saw record levels of illegal immigration, a surge in crimes committed by transnational criminal organizations, and a weakening of national security.    
 
The administration also ended key deterrence measures, such as “Remain in Mexico” and safe-third country asylum agreements.

At the same time, the previous administration expanded the CBP One app and created mass parole programs to facilitate the illegal entry of inadmissible aliens into the United States. As a result, every state in America has now become a border state. 
 
Violent criminal gangs infiltrated American communities and carried out heinous criminal acts, such as murder, rape, assault, and robbery—which jeopardized the safety of all American citizens. 
 
When President Trump took office this January, he and his administration wasted no time in reversing the failed policies of the Biden-Harris administration. 
 
His administration immediately declared a national emergency at the Southwest border and took aggressive actions, such as deploying troops to assist and support DHS operations to regain operational control.

The President also resumed border wall construction, ended Biden-era mass parole programs, and terminated the failed catch-and-release policy.  
 
The results were seen almost immediately. By the end of February, Customs and Border Protection data revealed record-low apprehensions at the Southwest border, thanks to the change in policy.

Illegal entries between ports of entry plummeted 94 percent compared to February 2024. Meanwhile, at the same time, Immigration and Customs Enforcement ramped up its enforcement efforts and increased arrests of public safety threats by 627 percent. 
 
I will close with a quote from one our witnesses: “The bottom line is this did not have to happen, and we need to prevent it from happening again.” 
 
We must do all we can to learn from the past to protect the safety and security of the American people and to ensure that failures of the past will never happen again.

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