President Biden claimed last week that he needs Congress to pass new legislation that grants him the authority to close the southern border. He’s acting as if his hands are currently tied, and that he needs congressional approval before he even moves a muscle. The truth is that he has been sitting on his hands and doing absolutely nothing this entire time. The President’s claim is not only preposterous, but also patently false. What he fails to acknowledge publicly is that he already has the authority to enact strict border security measures. 

There are existing laws on the books that the President can enforce, but he chooses not to. In fact, there have been more than 60 occasions when President Biden purposefully undermined border security and greenlighted massive illegal immigration. Speaker Johnson outlined a handful of examples as to what the President can already do without Congress passing the Senate’s border deal:

• Ending catch-and-release.
• Ceasing exploitation of parole authority.
• Reinstating the Remain in Mexico program.
• Expanding the use of expedited removal authority.
• Renewing construction of the border wall.

What’s more, look to the authority granted to the President under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952:

“Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate.”

Even in precedent set by the Supreme Court in Trump v. Hawaii, the President can make “…decisions whether and when to suspend entry, whose entry to suspend, for how long, and on what conditions.” Again, the laws that are already on the books are the ones that should be enforced by President Biden. He would do well to take a long, hard look in the mirror.

Stand with Texas

I have recently cosponsored the PATROL Act, legislation authored by Representative Michael Cloud that prevents Biden’s Far Left Department of Justice from using the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 to sue states, such as Texas, that enact their own decisive border security measures. The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 is the initial authority for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulatory permit program to protect navigable waters in construction and excavation. Most recently this law has been used to punish Texas for implementing their own border security measures. the Biden Administration has consistently failed to secure the Southern Border and has denied states the appropriate latitude and resources to handle the issue themselves. 

Questioning UPenn

The Committee on Education and the Workforce is ramping up its investigation into antisemitism on college campuses. I have sent a letter to University of Pennsylvania Board of Trustees Chairman Ramanan Raghavendran and Interim President Dr. Larry Jameson requesting documents and information regarding the University of Pennsylvania’s abysmal response to antisemitism on its campus. Here’s a short excerpt:

“Penn’s failure to address antisemitism on its campus has been harshly and widely rebuked. … In defense of this disgraceful record, Penn has cited its supposed commitment to free speech. … However, Penn has demonstrated a clear double standard by tolerating antisemitic vandalism, harassment, and intimidation, but suppressing and penalizing other expression it deemed problematic.”

To read my full letter, click here.

Quote of The Week

“You either believe in border security or you don’t.”

-Senator John Kennedy

Have a blessed weekend,