In The News
Weekly Column: Republicans Voted to Secure the Border, Again...
Washington,
April 29, 2024
Tags:
Homeland Security
The crisis along our southern border rages on because President Biden and Congressional Democrats are not taking it seriously. Throughout this Congress, I have continually fought to end President Biden’s open border policies. On May 11, 2023, I joined my House colleagues in voting to pass H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act. This bill is the strongest border security measure to pass either chamber of Congress in modern history. This bill has been sitting on Chuck Schumer’s desk for nearly a year. On Saturday, the House had the opportunity to pass meaningful border security and sadly Democrats again rejected this measure. H.R. 3602, the End the Border Catastrophe Act, would resume border wall construction, increase the number of Border Patrol agents, reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy, and end catch-and-release policies, all very similar to provisions in H.R. 2. Additionally, this measure added language to reimburse states for costs they have incurred attempting to secure the border because the Biden Administration failed to do so. Unfortunately, while House Republicans supported this commonsense measure, the bill failed to get the two-thirds vote required to pass as a suspension. All but five Democrats voted against this effort to secure the border. Since President Biden took office, there have been 9.2 million encounters of individuals attempting to illegally enter our country with over 7.6 million of those encounters happening along our southern border. On top of that astronomical number, there have been over 1.8 million known gotaways, meaning individuals who illegally entered the U.S. and were not stopped by border patrol. Last month alone, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recorded 189,372 encounters at the southwest border. This includes an individual from Lebanon who admitted to being a Hezbollah terrorist and having intentions of making a bomb. President Biden refuses to address this crisis, and Senate Democrats refuse to help House Republicans legislatively force his hand. Border security is a matter of national security, and we must act immediately. |