In first floor speech, Strong proposes legislation to finish building the border wall

For Immediate Release: Thursday March 9, 2023

WASHINGTON— In his first speech on the House floor, Congressman Dale Strong (AL-05) called for the Biden Administration to resume building the wall along the Southern Border. Congressman Strong recently traveled to the border with members of the House Committee on Homeland Security to see the crisis firsthand. The trip strengthened Congressman Strong’s position on immigration and border security.

In his speech, Congressman Strong shared firsthand experiences from his border trip. He remarked on seeing abandoned raw materials meant to build the border wall left to rust and ruin — billions of dollars going to waste.

Strong called out the hypocrisy of the Administration for drawing back resources to secure our physical border and instead, opting to send men and women of our armed forces to stand guard at the southern border. He shared legislation that he will introduce to address this.

Excerpts from Congressman Strong’s speech can be found below, and his full remarks can be viewed here.

“The Secretary of Homeland Security says that the border is secure. The American people know better.”

“On our [recent] visit to the [southern] border we met with: Texas National Guard, [The Department of] Homeland Security, [Customs and] Border [Protection] (CBP), [Immigration and Customs Enforcement], Homeland Security Investigations, and Texas State Troopers. Not one of these agencies or officials could say that the U.S. border was secure. “

“During our trip, I was reminded that on his first day in office, the president terminated the emergency declaration at the southern border and halted border wall construction. Over the last two years, CBP have encountered over 4.7 million illegal immigrants trying to enter our country. That doesn’t include the 1.2 million that have evaded border patrol.”

“The Administration tells the American people that the border is under control. If our border is secure, then why – over the last two years – has the Administration continued to send our troops to the border? That alone signals to every American that we have a problem.”

“My bill will resume border wall construction and ensure the president cannot withhold resources while sending our troops to the front lines.”

“I am proud to introduce this legislation and other measures ensure that if the Administration expects our troops to defend our border… Then we expect them to provide every tool, resource, and means of support to each of the brave men and women protecting our homeland security.”