During Thursday’s Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) discussed DHS Secretary. Kristi Noem's border security agenda.
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00:00on this committee and your tireless effort to get us back to regular order,
00:04moving these bills not only through full committee, but making sure that they're seen on the floor.
00:11Since January 20th, under President Trump's leadership, the department has actually become
00:17a priority. Rather than turning Border Patrol agents and ICE officers into paper pushers,
00:22President Trump has empowered the men and women of CBP and ICE. This has resulted in gaining more
00:30control on the border and the enforcement of our immigration laws. In fact, President Trump has
00:37signed a new law, the Lake and Riley Act, which further empowers ICE to help protect communities
00:42from criminal aliens. He has taken swift and decisive actions in other areas, such as restoring the voice
00:49officers at ICE and reduce bureaucratic red tape that was counterproductive to achieving the mission.
00:57DHS has a vast, important, and complex mission. It's 250,000 employees are responsible for keeping
01:07Americans safe from coast to coast, on the water, and in the air. As chair of the Homeland Security
01:14Appropriations Subcommittee, it is my responsibility to work with you, Madam Secretary, and my
01:19fellow senators to appropriate the resources DHS needs to carry out its mission. One of the most
01:26important areas that we must dedicate resources to is border security and immigration enforcement.
01:33I want to say thank you to the brave men and women of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and
01:38Customs Enforcement who show up every single day to keep our borders secure, to keep our communities safe,
01:46and to enforce our immigration laws. Since President Trump took back the White House,
01:51we have seen historically low levels of encounters along the southwest border.
01:55In March 2024, Border Patrol encountered
01:59137,473 people.
02:05Fast forward to March of 2025, under President Trump's leadership, Border Patrol encountered only 7,181 people.
02:14That's a 95 percent decrease. Thank you, Madam Secretary. Under the Biden administration,
02:21there were nearly 2 million gotaways, and in 2023, the Chief of Border Patrol testified that gotaways may
02:29have been underreported by as much as 20 percent. The work that President Trump and this administration
02:36have done to curb the flow of illegal migration is truly incredible. We've gone from record high
02:41encounters under the previous administration to two consecutive months of record lows. Ultimately,
02:47that means safer communities and families across our great country. But we cannot let up. We must continue
02:54to empower Border Patrol. We want our agents on the line to be equipped with the best tools available.
03:01We must also continue the renewed focus on interior enforcement, where we have seen tremendous gains
03:07since President Trump took the oath of office. In fact, since President Trump's inauguration, there have
03:12been a 153 percent increase in removals stemming from ICE apprehensions, a true testament to the work done
03:20by DHS law enforcement officials that are working to safeguard our communities. As you know, Madam Secretary,
03:26the ultimate goal of immigration enforcement life cycle is to remove individuals that are here unlawfully,
03:32and I commend your department in the pursuit and the end of that goal. One of the results of our open
03:37border policies supported by the previous administration was significant growth in ICE's
03:42non-detained docket, growing from 3.7 million at the end of FY 2021 to 7.6 million at the end of 2024.
03:53That is a 105 percent increase. Many will commit crimes while here, waiting their turn to be processed,
04:01which is unacceptable and why I fought so hard for the Lake and Riley Act to pass Congress.
04:06And that is also why I was proud to be there when President Trump signed that into law.
04:12I am incredibly proud when you look at the work that Alabama does to support the Department of
04:17Homeland Security and the equities there and so many hard-working dedicated public servants who show up
04:22every single day to fulfill that mission. From the incredible collaboration between DHS and our
04:28college programs on research to the HIS National Academy in Huntsville to the Coast Guard's Aviation
04:34Training Center in Mobile, it's gratifying to see that I represent a state that plays such an important
04:40role in protecting our country. Alabama is also home to some key institutions that fit within the
04:46administration's priorities of empowering state and local law enforcement to have a seat at the table
04:52when it comes to disaster recovery and national security. Both FEMA's Center for Domestic Preparedness
04:58and the National Computer Forensic Institute and Hoover provide key resources to local officials
05:03across our nation to ensure that they are equipped with the best knowledge, skills, and tools needed
05:08to protect and serve the United States of America. It is unfortunate that trainings have been canceled,
05:14especially at a time when cities across this country begin to prepare for the World Cup
05:19and the Olympics. Madam Secretary, I am certainly open to conversations about how all of this evolves,
05:25but I want to make sure that we are looking at future threats as well as existing threats,
05:30and I believe that we can do both. Another FEMA area that not only saves taxpayer dollars but saves
05:37taxpayer lives is the BRIC program. Since President Trump signed the Disaster Recovery Reform Act, which
05:43authorizes BRIC, nearly $5 billion has gone to mitigation projects across 55 states and territories and 37 tribal nations
05:51that requested funding. This is clearly a popular and important program. The program obviously is not
05:58without its challenges. Applying and implementing BRIC grants requires resources to many cities, states,
06:03and tribes that they may not have. But rather than ceasing to implement, we should work together to identify
06:09ways that BRIC could be amended to be less complex and more efficient. Madam Secretary, the people up here
06:16look forward to working with you and your team. We look forward to conversations about the President's FY26
06:22budget for DHS. From what I've seen, I am personally supportive of zeroing out the Shelter and Services
06:28Program, and I look forward to conversations about FEMA, CISA, and TSA. I hope that we will see requests for base
06:36increases to CBP, ICE, and elsewhere within DHS. You have an incredibly difficult job, Madam Secretary,
06:43and have stepped up to do it during one of the most challenging times. I want to thank you for your
06:48service, and I look forward to your testimony today and to working with you and your team to making sure
06:54that America's borders are safe and its people are secure. I now turn to Senator Murphy and recognize
06:59him for his opening remarks. Thank you very much.