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United Senate Republicans Push To Change Biden’s Disastrous Border Policies | Republican Leader
11.15.23
The Biden Administration’s Border Security Failures Are Drawing Record Numbers Of Illegal Aliens From All Over The World, Leaving American Law Enforcement Overwhelmed
SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER MITCH McCONNELL (R-KY): “It is impossible to ignore the crisis at our southern border that’s erupted on Washington Democrats’ watch: Back-to-back record-setting years that saw millions upon millions of illegal arrivals at the border. And historic quantities of fentanyl and other lethal drugs pouring across to decimate American communities. Let’s remember where this crisis came from. President Biden campaigned on open-borders policies. His message was so compelling that crowds literally showed up at the southern border with his campaign logo on their shirts. As one put it back then, the President had, quote, ‘promised us that everything was going to change.’” (Leader McConnell, Remarks, 11/15/2023)
- LEADER McCONNELL: “[T]his is the Administration that canceled commonsense policies like ‘Remain in Mexico,’ shelved DHS resources meant for border wall construction, and abandoned overstretched border enforcement personnel to contend with a tidal wave of mass migration. Today, cleaning up this Administration’s mess at the southern border is matter of urgent national security. And I’m grateful to the group of Senate Republicans including Senator Lankford, Senator Graham, and Senator Cotton who have been working in good faith on substantive policy reforms to bring the crisis under control. The goal here is simple: Slow the flow; and stop the catch-and-release asylum system that’s overrunning border communities and blue cities, alike. This crisis isn’t crying out for boatloads of new taxpayer dollars. Just commonsense policy reform. Unfortunately, Senate Democrats do not appear ready to admit this reality. They’re apparently not ready to seriously address asylum abuse.” (Leader McConnell, Remarks, 11/15/2023)
Senate Republicans Are Committed To Fighting For Commonsense Border Security Reforms
SENATE REPUBLICAN WHIP JOHN THUNE (R-SD): “[T]he president’s recent supplemental funding request has not left me hopeful that the administration is suddenly going to become more effective. Potentially billions in reimbursement for blue states struggling to house illegal immigrants won’t do a single thing to solve the crisis we’re facing at the border. And while the president’s proposal does include some funding that would actually go toward security, funding alone is not enough. We need meaningful policy changes…” (Sen. Thune, Remarks, 11/01/2023)
SENATE REPUBLICAN CONFERENCE CHAIR JOHN BARRASSO (R-WY): “Joe Biden and the Democrats refuse to admit that we have an urgent crisis at the southern border. They refuse to admit that the crisis and the weakness is brought upon by the fact that they have ignored or reversed rules and activities that have worked in the past to secure the border.” (Sen. Barrasso, Press Conference, 11/14/2023)
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair: “Targeted funding must be accompanied by policy changes that ensure our borders are secure…” (Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing, 11/08/2023)
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC), Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member: “I reject the idea this is a global phenomenon problem. I think you’re misdiagnosing the problem. This is policy changes you all instituted that I told you wouldn’t work and we now need to fix that. Trend lines: 2020, 458,000 encounters. 2023, 2.5 million. We need to change that don’t we? That trend line.”
SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS: “We most certainly do.” (Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing, 11/08/2023)
SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): “Republicans in the Senate this past weekend released a very simple proposal to deal with what we all know are the problems. Closing the loopholes in the law that have been exploited. And yes it deals with asylum and yes it deals with withholding because those are the areas that are being exploited. … The question is, do Democrat senators see it. That’s really the issue now. Everyone else seems to see it and admit to it.” (Sen. Lankford, Remarks, 11/06/2023)
SEN. SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO (R-WV): “We are trying, I think, to offer the administration, we being the Republicans here in the Senate, offering the administration substantive policy changes that will bring these numbers down.” (Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing, 11/08/2023)
SEN. KATIE BRITT (R-AL): “When we talk about this, we don’t have to manage the border as it says in one of your requests here, we actually need to secure it.” (Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing, 11/08/2023)
Border Encounters With Illegal Aliens ‘Hit The Highest Ever Number For October’
“Migrant encounters at the southern border hit the highest ever number for October last month, with more than 240,000 people encountered…” (“Migrant Encounters At Southern Border Set New Record For October: Data,” Fox News, 11/14/2023)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: “[C]rossings remain unusually high…” (The Associated Press, 11/14/2023)
Illegal Aliens Now Run Towards Law Enforcement, ‘Knowing That They Will Likely Be Released In A Few Days To Await Court Dates That Could Be Years Away’
“For years, migrants who crossed illegally into the United States would often run away from law enforcement, but now once reaching the US most run to authorities, according to observers. They’re eager to be processed, knowing that they will likely be released in a few days to await court dates that could be years away…. Most of the migrants entering San Diego County appear familiar with the process, as though they’ve been prepared by others who’ve successfully arrived before them. They gather at various spots on the US side and await CBP officials … [B]uses first take them just a few miles to area detention centers to be processed over a few days. They’re then transported north to transit hubs in San Diego, where county officials say the vast majority travel to other cities.” (“They Live Near San Diego. Migrants Pass Through Their Back Yards Almost Nightly,” CNN, 11/13/2023)
The Draw Of Easy Illegal Entry Into The United States Has Resulted In Huge Numbers Of Migrants Overwhelming Countries From Panama All The Way Through Mexico
“The southwestern border of the U.S. has struggled to cope with increasing numbers of migrants from South America who move quickly through the Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama before heading north. By September, 420,000 migrants, aided by Colombian smugglers, had passed through the gap in the year to date, Panamanian figures showed.” (“Caravan Of 3,000 Migrants Blocks Highway In Southern Mexico,” The Associated Press, 11/08/2023)
THE WASHINGTON POST: ‘U.S.-Bound Migrants Are Overwhelming Mexico’ (The Washington Post, 10/20/2023)
- “[Mexico] is struggling with a migration crisis of its own, as historic numbers of asylum seekers cross its southern border. As many as 6,000 migrants a day have lined up outside government offices in southern Mexico — some seeking refuge in this country, but many others headed for the United States. That’s up to 10 times as many as in the spring. Security forces have pulled more than 27,000 undocumented migrants off trains in the past month alone.” (“U.S.-Bound Migrants Are Overwhelming Mexico,” The Washington Post, 10/20/2023)
“Until recently, the migrants reaching the U.S. border were mostly Mexicans and Central Americans. Now there’s a global outpouring of economic and political refugees funneling through Mexico. The number of South American migrants reaching Mexico this year has surpassed the number of Central Americans for the first time since record-keeping began. Mexico went from logging fewer than 2,000 South Americans a year for most of the past decade to more than 176,000 in the first eight months of 2023. Many are traveling with families.” (“U.S.-Bound Migrants Are Overwhelming Mexico,” The Washington Post, 10/20/2023)
‘The Southern Border Has Just Become A Staging Ground For Migrants From All Parts Of The World To Come To The U.S. Most Quickly’
“‘The Southern border has just become a staging ground for migrants from all parts of the world to come to the U.S. most quickly,’ said Muzaffar Chishti, a lawyer and the director of non-partisan research group Migration Policy Institute’s New York office.” (NBC News, 11/14/2023)
“Border Patrol agents struggle communicating with many of them, instead relying on hand signals or smartphone translation apps – assuming the cell signal is strong enough. Spanish and English are no longer sufficient, as local volunteers have documented people from more than 40 countries crossing in recent months, including China, Turkey and Uzbekistan.” (“They Live Near San Diego. Migrants Pass Through Their Back Yards Almost Nightly,” CNN, 11/13/2023)
Apprehensions Of Illegal Aliens From Asia And Africa TRIPLED During The Last Fiscal Year
“Hundreds of thousands of migrants from all over the world are making their way to the Southwest border, with U.S. and Mexican authorities reporting a surge in apprehensions of people from Asia and Africa as human smuggling networks widen their reach across the globe. Arrests at the Southwest border of migrants from China, India and other distant countries, including Mauritania and Senegal, tripled to 214,000 during the fiscal year that ended in September from 70,000 in the previous fiscal year, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. Fewer than 19,000 migrants from Asia and Africa were apprehended in the fiscal year ended September 2021.” (“Migrants Are Flocking to the U.S. From All Over the Globe,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/04/2023)
- “Travelers say they exchange information and share videos of U.S.-bound routes on Tik Tok and Facebook, while smugglers offer lodging and travel agencies advertise transport services. Most Asian and African migrants make multiple airport stopovers in what are coming to be known as ‘donkey flights’ to reach countries such as Brazil, Ecuador or Nicaragua, which have few or no visa requirements for some nationalities. Once they set foot in Latin America, they move north in buses or cars and stay at hotels booked by smuggling organizations. Many wear bracelets similar to those of an all-inclusive resort, with inscriptions that identify the organization that coordinated and charged them for the trip, Mexican authorities say.” (“Migrants Are Flocking to the U.S. From All Over the Globe,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/04/2023)
“For the second year in a row, arrests by the Border Patrol at the U.S. Southern border surpassed two million. Most of them, almost nine out of 10 apprehensions, are of migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean. But the surge in so-called extracontinental migrants poses a challenge for the U.S. because deporting migrants to Africa and Asia is time-consuming, expensive and sometimes not possible.” (“Migrants Are Flocking to the U.S. From All Over the Globe,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/04/2023)
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SENATE REPUBLICAN COMMUNICATIONS CENTER
Related Issues:
Immigration,
Border Security
Dallas, TX
If the Dallas Stars move to the suburbs, what city deals could help fund a new $1B arena?
As speculation surrounds the Dallas Stars eyeing a move to the site of a Plano shopping mall, there are few details available on the NHL team’s potential new $1 billion arena — or the incentives cities may offer to attract the team in a competitive market.
From grants to tax breaks, there are several tools Texas cities can use for economic development. Some go to the ballot, but other incentives can go through without a vote as cities vie for the prestige, potential economic boost and tax revenue that comes with hosting a major sports team and its stadium.
After discussions with Frisco, The Colony, Arlington and Fort Worth, the Dallas Stars are considering relocating from the American Airlines Center in Dallas to The Shops at Willow Bend, two people with knowledge of the team’s efforts told The Dallas Morning News this fall, potentially following the lead of many major U.S. sports teams’ exodus to the suburbs.
Nola Agha, professor at the University of San Francisco, researches the economic impact of teams and stadiums. While a team’s move might not generate much new economic activity at the regional level, a move within North Texas can make things competitive, she said.
“When you live in a suburb, and you care about your own tax base … you see this competition between municipalities for shifting that activity,” Agha said.
City officials will not comment on the Stars or a potential arena, but Plano has historically used incentives to attract companies like Toyota, Capital One and JPMorgan Chase to anchor regional headquarters in the city.
Ted Benavides, former Dallas city manager and a professor of social sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas, said Plano is well-positioned to pursue a deal with the Stars, as cities like Arlington and Frisco have done with major North Texas teams.
“They have money,” Benavides said. “They’re very active on the economic development front, so there’s a lot of things they could do.”
An exterior view of The Shops at Willow Bend mall at W Park Blvd and the North Dallas Tollway in Plano, Texas, October 28, 2025.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
Grants and loans
Texas law allows cities to use money to promote economic development. In addition to tax breaks, a city can award companies grants and loans to incentivize them to stay in, move to or invest in a city.
In 2006, the Plano City Council approved a property tax increase of two cents per $100 property valuation for an economic development incentive fund. The city caps annual contributions to the fund at $8.5 million, city documents show, and uses the money to offer loans and grants that promote economic development.
Benavides said Plano was likely motivated to compete with cities like McKinney, Frisco and Allen that use the sales tax they are not contributing to public transportation to fund economic development corporations.
Plano contributes a one-cent sales tax to Dallas Area Rapid Transit — $116 million in the 2023 fiscal year, according to DART documents. The city plans to hold an election to withdraw from the agency next May and, if voters choose to exit, eventually regain that penny of revenue.
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Cities can award grants for a number of reasons, including to promote redevelopment and revitalization of retail centers or cover a company’s fees to the city.
“It has to make financial sense for us,” said Doug McDonald, Plano’s economic development director and the city’s next deputy city manager.
McDonald would not comment on specific economic development projects not yet brought to the City Council, but gave insight into how Plano’s incentives generally work.
Economic development agreements involving grants typically last 6-10 years, he said, and factor in the tax revenue a project might generate and what service costs it might create.
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Redevelopment tools
Agha has found municipalities compete for sports teams to shift economic activity from one area to another, with cities traditionally using sales tax to finance sports development projects.
For example, in 2004, Arlington voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase and other increases to hotel and rental car taxes to help pay for the city’s $325 million contribution to AT&T Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys play. The Cowboys paid the remaining cost of the $1.2 billion venue, according to the city.
“That’s fallen out of favor … because people don’t like to be taxed,” Agha said. “It usually has to go up to a vote, and it very commonly gets voted down. Because of that, the most popular financing technique, especially for smaller cities, is tax increment financing.”
This tool captures the growth in a property’s tax revenue created by new development within a defined area. When businesses and property owners invest in improvements in the area and those improvements increase tax revenue, that increase can be used to reimburse project costs or fund additional improvements that spur continued growth in the area.
A view of The Shops at Willow Bend mall sign at W Park Blvd and the North Dallas Tollway in Plano, Texas, October 28, 2025.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
Frisco and its school district have used this economic development tool to fund several projects, such as Toyota Stadium, PGA golf courses, the Ford Center and more.
“It’s popular because it’s relatively hidden, meaning the taxpayers don’t have to know that a city is using property tax and giving it back to a developer,” Agha said. “They don’t have to vote on it, and it can incentivize a developer to build something.”
But when economic development projects happen without voter approval, there may be fewer opportunities for residents to weigh in.
Plano currently has four such reinvestment zones, which are historically in “blighted or underdeveloped areas,” according to the city’s website. The existing zones are in East Plano, at Silver Line stations, at Collin Creek Mall and in Plano’s Legacy district.
“The intent of these districts is to help encourage areas that are in need of redevelopment and reinvestment,” McDonald said.
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Bond funding on the ballot
Cities can also ask voters to approve issuing bonds to fund projects and borrow money.
“Every once in a while, there are different things that come up in the community that are important enough that the bond committee of citizens puts something on the ballot,” McDonald said.
Some cities have funded large sports projects with bond funding. In 2016, Arlington voters approved $500 million in bonds to partially fund Globe Life Field.
Tax breaks
Another economic development tool is a break from certain taxes. Cities can offer companies tax abatements, reducing taxes for businesses on improvements to property. These can apply to things like commercial construction or facility expansions.
Tax abatements are an option if a company is adding significant value to a site, McDonald said.
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“We don’t typically use tax rebates or abatements when the building is already there unless there’s going to be a significant or complete demolition and rebuild,” McDonald said.
Agha said for large projects, tax breaks are a drop in the bucket.
“Arenas and stadiums are running close to a billion dollars,” Agha said. “Property tax abatement is probably a very small piece of what the total cost would be.”
What’s at stake
Economic development projects are meant to add value to the community in the form of high-paying jobs, sales tax, property tax and more. Their incentives often have expiration dates.
“Our hope is that the company stays here and continues to invest in the community,” McDonald said.
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Suburbs with more land flexibility can add development around the stadium to “sweeten the pot,” Benavides said, and add different streams of income. For example, the Texas Live! entertainment and hotel complex in Arlington near its ballpark received tax and grant incentives.
But new developments can disrupt traffic and the regular patterns of economic activity. They are not always popular. McDonald said city officials listen to concerns and will try to mitigate them.
“There’s potential for gain,” Agha said, if economic activity shifts from Dallas to Plano.
“The important caveat to that is, will the city enter into some sort of financial agreement where they essentially give back all that new economic activity to the team?” Agha asked. “The devil can be in the details.”
Email tips on all things Collin County to lilly.kersh@dallasnews.com.
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A man was shot to death at a northwest Atlanta apartment building on Tuesday night, according to police.
Atlanta police said they responded to a person shot at an apartment building located at 361 Oliver Street NW, near the Vine City neighborhood.
Officers reportedly found a man with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have not released further details, including the victim’s name or if they’ve identified suspects.
This is a developing story. Check back with Atlanta News First for updates.
Copyright 2025 WANF. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Imperial Theatre and Miller Theatre will dim their lights at 9:45 p.m. tonight in honor of Scott Seidl.
The artistic director of the Augusta Players died Sunday. The marquees will go dark for one minute, a tradition when the theatre community loses someone important.
A leader who brought the Players home
Seidl was known as a leader who worked alongside his performers. After the Players had been homeless for 80 years, he finally put a roof over his theatre family’s head.
“Scott brought us home. It’s because of him that we’re in this space,” said Amy Patton, Augusta Players Board of Director Chair.
In May, the Players cut the ribbon on the group’s first-ever building. In an interview after the celebration, Seidl said the building wasn’t his.
“There are four or five of us who are on the staff, and we manage this space, but it’s not our space. And it’s everybody else’s — it’s your home. It belongs to you and anyone else who wants to be part of the Augusta Players family,” Seidl said.
Supporting the arts community
Seidl was a strong advocate for all arts organizations in downtown Augusta, not just the Augusta Players.
“Was such a strong force and a strong advocate for the arts, especially in downtown Augusta. Doesn’t matter if Le Chat Noir was doing something. Doesn’t matter if the Augusta Symphony was doing something. We were all going to try our hardest to be there. But he would be there,” said Ansleigh Davis, Development Director.
Ryan Abel, a performer, said Seidl was dedicated to the organization.
“He was the first to show — the last to leave — he was a true servant of this organization. And through his service, he led,” Abel said.
Christina DeCarlo, Associate Artistic Director, said the goal is to continue his legacy.
“Our goal is to continue his legacy because we know that’s what he would want us to do,” DeCarlo said.
The Augusta Players’ next show is “The Grinch That Stole Christmas.”
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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