America's southern border,

safe, serene, peaceful.

Before that, less than one year ago, this was a much different scene.

A border is more than a line on a map. It's America's shield against chaos and invasion.

It's a shield against anyone, anything, any organization, any country, any cartel that would dare undermine American values.

I'm here at the Hidalgo Border Patrol crossing to honor the great work of President Trump, his administration,

and all the heroic men and women of the Border Patrol who honor

this shield and protect us and keep us safe every day.

And thanks to the work of the Trump administration, our borders are quiet for the first time

in years. America's borders didn't start with walls. They began with a commitment to sovereignty, from the Founder's vision to effective policies that protected our nation.

Today, in places like the Rio Grande Valley, we see how modern technology and physical barriers are protecting the Founders' vision of sovereignty and our national security.

In the far south of Texas, where the Rio Grande winds through the desert and the brushlands,

lies a place where history and destiny meet.

Long before borders, this valley was a living corridor, home to tribes who fished its waters and built their lives from the land. Spanish settlers followed to what is now Mexico and the United States,

expanding west, shaping a nation that would one day define this river as the line between two worlds.

The Treaty of Wadalupe-I-Dalgo in 1848 set the Rio Grande as the border between Mexico and United States.

But a border drawn on paper rarely captures the truth on the ground.

Families, cultures, and economies remained intertwined.

Trade flowed freely.

Towns grew up in the shadows of the same mesquite trees.

For generations, the border was less a barrier and more a meeting point,

a symbol of exchange and coexistence.

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