Click here or the image above to watch Senator Capito’s remarks.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, highlighted President Trump and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem’s successful efforts to secure our Southern Border. Senator Capito also questioned Secretary Noem on the department’s priorities and the president’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request.
HIGHLIGHTS:
ON PRESIDENT TRUMP AND SECRETARY NOEM’S SUCCESS AT THE BORDER
SENATOR CAPITO: “I say congratulations. Results speak loudly. Not only are migrant encounters down 95%, but the gotaways are down 99%. To put it simply, migrants are just not slipping through. They're not evading our border patrol. I boil it down to two basic strategies that the administration has done, that the previous administration could have done but totally ignored. One is deterrence. When possible illegals look to the United States to see that we are following through on deportation orders in larger numbers. I think that's a huge deterrence, along with other things that are occurring. The other one is enforcement, enforcement of the law.”
SECRETARY NOEM: “I would say Border Patrol is thrilled. They get to finally do their jobs. The morale has never been better. Recruitment is fantastic. ICE is recruiting. CBP is up 54%. The Coast Guard is up over 100% in recruitment, and the Secret Service is up over 200%. So, the fact that they have an administration that's letting them do their jobs again and actually following the law is something they're very proud of. And so, I think those two things are really what's making them proud.”
ON FEDERAL DISASTER RELIEF
SENATOR CAPITO: “Coming from a small state that is subject to a lot of natural disasters, flooding, in most cases…I do want to put on the record here that I am concerned, I do think they need a national response to disasters.”
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