Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, discussed the efforts by President Trump and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to secure the Southern Border. During her remarks, Senator Capito also addressed Secretary Noem regarding the department’s priorities and the president’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request.
Senator Capito praised the administration’s border security measures, stating: “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.” She attributed this success to two main strategies: deterrence and enforcement.
Secretary Noem echoed these sentiments by highlighting improvements in morale and recruitment among border security agencies: “I would say Border Patrol is thrilled. They get to finally do their jobs. The morale has never been better. Recruitment is fantastic.” She noted significant increases in recruitment for various agencies including ICE, CBP, Coast Guard, and Secret Service.
In addition to border security issues, Senator Capito expressed concerns about federal disaster relief efforts: “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.”
