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Dear John,
I recently traveled to the U.S. Southern Border and wrote a joint-opinion piece on the experience with Rep. David Joyce (OH) which ran in the Washington Times newspaper.
I wanted to share the article with you.
House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger (TX) and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chair Dave Joyce (OH) wrote an op-ed for the Washington Times.
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Granger, Joyce Op-Ed Depicts the Border Crisis as ‘Unfair, Disorderly, and Inhumane’
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House Appropriations Chairwoman Kay Granger (TX) and Homeland Security Subcommittee Chair Dave Joyce (OH) wrote an op-ed for the Washington Times, highlighting their recent trip to see firsthand the worsening situation along the Mexico border and the true cost of the crisis.
“From Arizona to Texas to Ohio, every city and town across the country is feeling the consequences of the crisis," Granger and Joyce noted. "Deadly drugs are pouring into our communities. Crime is surging in our neighborhoods as drug cartels, human traffickers, violent gang members, and terrorists fill the vacuum left by the Biden administration’s hands-off approach to border enforcement."
Photo of Reps. Granger (TX), Joyce (OH), and Cuellar (TX)
Read their op-ed here and below.
Biden's Unfair, Disorderly, and Inhumane Border Crisis
By Kay Granger and Dave Joyce
April 26, 2023
The first step to fixing a problem is admitting it exists. Despite all evidence to the contrary, the Biden administration continues to insist there is no crisis at the southwestern border.
Last week, we led a bipartisan delegation to El Paso, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona, to see for ourselves the worsening situation along the Mexican border. What we saw left no doubt: A crisis exists, it is getting worse, and until the administration changes its policies, the problem will not be solved.
Here are the facts: In each of the first two years of the Biden presidency, the situation at our southern border has grown worse. U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported a record high of 2.7 million encounters last year and has already encountered 1 million migrants this year.
In the past three weeks alone, Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz reported 109,769 apprehensions; 32,848 “gotaways"; 21 Border Patrol agents assaulted; 34 sex offenders and 16 gang members arrested; $1.37 million seized; and 2,593 pounds of drugs confiscated — including methamphetamine and fentanyl. That is just what we know about; the true scope of illegal activity is certainly much worse.
In a few weeks, when the Title 42 public health emergency ends, the situation will grow more dire. Migrant encounters likely will surge to between 8,000 and 15,000 a day. That is more than twice the current rate. This crisis is on the verge of turning into a catastrophe.
During the trip, we spoke directly with the brave men and women of CBP about what they are experiencing along the border. What we heard confirmed that this administration’s policies have made their jobs more difficult and the border less secure.
Photo of Homeland Security Officials Briefing Committee Members
Agents, who should be patrolling the border, are instead forced to process migrants and respond to humanitarian needs. Materials, which should be used to construct border barriers, are wasting away in storage. Detention spaces, which should be used to house those who break our immigration laws, sit empty.
The effects of President Biden’s policies at our border are obviously dangerous and incomprehensible, but the impacts do not end there. From Arizona to Texas to Ohio, every city and town across the country is feeling the consequences of the crisis. Deadly drugs are pouring into our communities. Crime is surging in our neighborhoods as drug cartels, human traffickers, violent gang members, and terrorists fill the vacuum left by the Biden administration’s hands-off approach to border enforcement.
So, what is the solution? As leaders on the House Appropriations Committee, we viewed the situation at the border with an eye toward budgetary needs. The takeaway from our trip was clear: We cannot simply spend our way out of this problem. While we support robust funding for the Department of Homeland Security, this crisis will not end until this administration’s open border policies are reversed.
House Republicans, including the Appropriations Committee, will do what we can to turn the tide. In the next few months, the House will be working on legislation that forces the Biden administration to end some of its most harmful practices. We can mandate that border barriers be built, and more agents and officers hired. We can put pressure on the administration to detain and deport violent, dangerous criminals rather than releasing them into the country, never to be heard from again.
The administration set out to have a border policy that is fair, orderly, and humane; instead, what we are seeing is quite the opposite. The situation at the border is unfair, disorderly, and inhumane, and frankly, it has to stop. For the good of all Americans, we hope the administration will open its eyes and take the first step toward a solution: admitting there is a problem.
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Sincerely,
Kay Granger
Member of Congress
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