Since President Biden took office, there have been over 5 million illegal crossings at our southern border, and more than 1.3 million illegal immigrants have avoided apprehension at the border, according to Border Patrol sources. The extreme open border policies we have seen from this administration and Democrats in Congress have turned every city in America into a border city, and we are all seeing a historic humanitarian, economic, and national security crisis unfold.
During President Biden’s first 100 days in office, he took 94 executive actions dealing with immigration, including stopping construction of the border wall. A few months later, the crisis got even worse when the Administration ended the successful “Remain in Mexico” program. To make matters worse, the Biden administration allowed Title 42 to expire last week.
Title 42 was one of the most useful tools to stop many illegal immigrants from crossing, so allowing this to expire is a big deal. Just last week, Border Patrol apprehended more than 10,000 migrants crossing illegally, which is the highest single-day total ever recorded.
President Biden even admitted the southern border would be “chaotic for a while” once Title 42 expires, yet he did it anyway.
We’ve got to get control of our borders and stop the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs into our community. Just this year alone, Customs and Border Patrol has seized over 14,000 pounds of fentanyl at the southern border. This is enough to kill more than 3 billion people. Fentanyl seizures continue to increase each month, and we are seeing the results of this deadly drug in communities all across America. Enough is enough.
Border security is national security, and that’s why just last week, House Republicans passed H.R. 2 – The Secure the Border Act of 2023 to secure the border and get control of our illegal immigration problem. This bill would force the Biden administration to restart construction of the border wall, strengthen current law to protect unaccompanied children from human trafficking, increase the number of Border Patrol agents and provide bonus pay, end the terrible catch and release policy, and end abuse of immigration authority by any presidential administration.
Securing the border and ensuring the safety and security of all Americans is one of House Republicans’ top priorities, and I can promise you we will not stop fighting until we get this crisis under control.
Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.
