Illegal crossings along the U.S. southern border jumped more than 30% in July, according to preliminary U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by The Washington Post.
It is no secret that the State of Texas is bearing the brunt of a national crisis at our southern border directly resulting from the unlawful and irresponsible actions of President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas.
Criminal cartels maintain operational control of the border. Migrants are dying on Texas ranches and along the Rio Grande. Little children are enslaved in the sex-trafficking trade – the tragic story for hundreds of thousands brought to light in the “The Sound of Freedom.” Fences are being cut, livestock are escaping, ranchers are threatened, and high-speed chases are tearing through small towns. Perhaps most deadly, dangerous fentanyl is pouring into our communities via an open border – empowering China and cartels while killing 200 Americans per day.
As a consequence, Governor Abbott has been forced to use Texas’ limited resources to do at least part of the job the federal government refuses – and the Texas Legislature has had to appropriate nearly $10 billion through Operation Lonestar and related efforts. Rather than reimburse Texas for its efforts, which benefit all Americans, the Biden administration has filed suit against our state citing “humanitarian concerns,” purposefully ignoring the humanitarian crisis of its own making.
House Republicans have taken action to force the question in passing H.R. 2 – the strongest border security bill to ever pass Congress – and hold Secretary Mayorkas and other Biden officials accountable in committee hearings. However, this amounts to nothing more than political theater if Congress is unwilling to use the strongest tool granted to us by the founders – the power of the purse – to force the change necessary to protect Texas and secure the border.
I joined 14 of my Texas colleagues in urging the rest of my House colleagues to use the power of the purse to force President Biden to end the carnage resulting from open borders. No appropriation should fund DHS until the necessary steps are taken to secure the border, such as:
- signing H.R. 2, or similar strong border security legislation, into law and prohibiting funds from being used in contravention of its provisions, including by mass releasing migrants through the CBP One app or otherwise;
- adopting policies that give law enforcement and/or our military the tools necessary to target dangerous cartels;
- ensuring Secretary Mayorkas is removed from office, resigns, is fired, or is otherwise defunded; and/or
- reimbursing Texas the $10 billion – to date – for Operation Lonestar and related border security efforts, as well as any other border state that has demonstrated such significant law-enforcement related expenses, and stopping Biden’s lawsuit against our state.
Simply put, no member of Congress should agree to fund a federal agency (DHS) at war with his state and people. We have a moral obligation to protect our states, our nation, and, importantly, the migrant children getting abused from the disaster transpiring at our southern border.
