U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) addressed the Senate regarding recent changes at the southern U.S. border, highlighting a significant decrease in border encounters in June. According to Thune, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 9,306 encounters at the southern border for the month of June, a sharp decline compared to figures under President Biden’s administration.
Thune contrasted these numbers with those from previous years, noting that monthly encounters during President Biden’s term were often over 200,000. He cited December 2023 as an example, when there were 301,981 encounters—32 times more than this past June. Thune stated, “The previous three Junes under President Biden saw more than 130,000, more than 140,000, and more than 200,000 encounters. And now we’re at 9,306.”
He attributed the change to a shift in presidential priorities: “What we’re seeing here is a president committed to fulfilling his responsibilities – namely, enforcing the law.” Thune also said that Republicans in Congress support continued efforts to secure the border.
Thune referenced recent legislation called the One Big Beautiful Bill passed in July. The bill includes funding for border barriers and technology—such as finishing construction on the border wall—as well as resources for additional Border Patrol agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
Quoting an acting ICE director who appeared on “Face the Nation,” Thune highlighted staffing challenges faced by ICE: “‘Our ranks have really shrunk, and we really don’t have enough to do the law enforcement mission. One of the big hampers for us is with the increase in sanctuary cities and sanctuary policies, we have to send more officers and agents out into the community… Where it would only take us two agents…we have to send out four to five agents… sometimes have to send out eight to ten just to provide security for those officers that are making the arrest.’”
Thune described this situation as unacceptable: “It is not acceptable that we don’t have enough ICE officers to do the job that they need to be doing.” He added that provisions in the new bill aim to address these shortages.
The legislation also provides Department of Justice funding intended for hiring more immigration judges—a move designed to reduce what Thune described as a massive backlog of immigration cases. He argued that these cases should be resolved within weeks or months rather than years.
Thune concluded by emphasizing national security concerns related to border management: “One of the most basic responsibilities of the federal government is providing for our nation’s security. And border security is an essential part of national security.” He credited former President Trump with reversing what he called chaos at the southern border and said that new investments would help maintain improvements beyond Trump’s tenure.
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