This week as Chairman of the Western Caucus, I led a group of 14

lawmakers to the Southern Border to see firsthand the chaos that is unfolding and hear directly from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) about the challenges they face amidst this crisis.

People are desperate to come to the United States. I don’t blame them for wanting to come. But we need to have a controlled entrance into our country, or we’ve lost our sovereignty.

While there, we heard from CBP who informed us that illegal immigrants have even been breaking into homes in order to steal food and clothes from American families. This problem has gotten so bad that members of the local community have been leaving their doors unlocked just to prevent further damage to their homes.

Fentanyl is also flowing in at a rapid rate, and with the price of the illicit substance going down, the supply is increasing and it is becoming substantially easier to move it across our nation.

From drugs and human trafficking to damage to local communities, law enforcement is struggling to manage this unprecedented crisis. While the Biden Administration has made clear their willingness to ignore our Southern Border, I am committed to delivering common-sense, actionable solutions to secure our borders, support the pathway to legal immigration, and stop the flow of illicit fentanyl—for the good of communities across Central Washington and the nation.

While at the Southern Border this week, I attended the House Natural Resources Federal Lands Subcommittee Hearing on the Biden Administration's border crisis and how it affects our federal lands.

The Biden Administration has tried again and again to lock up our public lands – and using our Federal Border lands as an open door for migrants is a true dereliction of duty to the American people.

Public lands are stewarded by the American people and in my position as Chairman of the Western Caucus, I am working daily to ensure we are protecting our resources while actively managing our lands.

This alarming number of continued record-breaking illegal crossings shows how dire the situation is. Every district, whether Central Washington or beyond, is now a border district because of this ongoing crisis. Also, the lands that we work to diligently conserve are being trashed and disrespected, which is unacceptable.

It is imperative that swift action is taken to secure our border and I will continue to work diligently to ensure that it does.

This week, I led a letter to United States Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, and the Western States Government Relations Liaison Director, Jennifer Selde with concerns about local delivery services and election integrity.

Upholding delivery standards and election integrity measures is the basis of the United States Postal Services’ operational mandates, and ensuring these requirements are being met is of the utmost importance.

The new USPS proposal to move some Wenatchee and Yakima post office operations to Spokane and Seattle will slow the already frustrating process of mail delivery to our rural communities.

This proposal will also make mail-in voting more difficult for our region, and it is crucial that we maintain the standards that the American people both expect and deserve.

I am urging The U.S. Postmaster General to reconsider this unreliable proposal for the sake of their customers and voters.