President Biden has done everything in his power to dismantle United States border security. On his first day in office, President Biden used his pen to stop the construction of the border wall, revoke President Trump’s executive order to ensure meaningful enforcement of border laws, end immigration restrictions on countries associated with terrorism, and sign other executive orders incentivizing illegal immigration. Altogether, the President has purposefully undermined U.S. border security on more than 60 occasions.

Under President Biden, more than 7.2 million illegal immigrants have entered our country, which is more than the population of 36 states, including over 169 people on the terror watch list. Not only does this pose a threat to our national security, but communities across America are suffering the tragic consequences of the Biden Administration’s open border policies daily, as we saw with the tragic murder of Laken Riley by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record. 

President Biden could secure the border today the same way he created this crisis: With a pen. He chooses not to, putting criminals before the safety of the American people. 

This week, the House Committee on Homeland Security released documents obtained through a subpoena of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that identified over 45 airport locations that were used by DHS to secretly fly over 400,000 illegal immigrants into the country. 

The top 15 airport locations used for the Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela (CHNV) program and the number of inadmissible aliens who flew into a port of entry between January-August 2023 were: 

1. Miami, Florida: 91,821
2. Ft. Lauderdale, Florida: 60,461 
3. New York City, New York: 14,827
4. Houston, Texas: 7,923 
5. Orlando, Florida: 6,043
6. Los Angeles, California: 3,271
7. Tampa, Florida: 3,237
8. Dallas, Texas: 2,256 
9. San Francisco, California: 2,052
10. Atlanta, Georgia: 1,796 
11. Newark, New Jersey: 1,498
12. Washington, D.C.: 1,472
13. Chicago, Illinois: 496 
14. Las Vegas, Nevada: 483 
15. Austin, Texas: 171 

Last month, I sent a letter to Joe Biden and Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asking for a response to the questions below because Americans deserve to know. 

1. How many flights were paid for by individual illegal immigrants?
2. How many flights were paid for by 501(c)3 or 501(c)4 organizations or other “financial sponsors?”
3. What measures has the administration taken to prevent criminals, human traffickers, and terrorists from applying for and being granted “advance travel authorization?”
4. What security threats have been observed as a result of the “advance travel authorization” flight program, and how have they been addressed

This week, the Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, held a hearing on the Department of Energy's Budget with Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. 

Since day one in office, the Biden administration has worked to undermine America's global leadership in clean, affordable, and reliable energy. For example, under Secretary Granholm's leadership, the administration has: 

• Drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to the lowest level since 1983 
• Begged OPEC, Russia, and Venezuela to pump more oil while shutting down energy production here at home  
• Promoted an anti-fossil fuel agenda by stalling energy infrastructure projects  
• Blocked oil and gas development and production on federal lands and waters  
• Banned new liquified natural gas (LNG) export facility permits  
• Canceled critical mineral mining projects  
• Pressured banks and financial institutions to stop investing in fossil energy projects  
• Limited development of oil and gas resources in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, set up by Congress for the nation's energy security 

The Biden Administration's decision to pause all LNG export permits is NOT an update, as Secretary Granholm says. Still, it has real consequences for a district like ours in Southeast Texas. It kills jobs and investments in our community. I asked her directly about the implications. I also asked her about their plans to refill the SPR they drew down for political reasons. 

Team Weber stayed busy today in Southeast Texas. In Jefferson and Orange County, they attended the ribbon cutting and open house for Lamar State College-Orange Hands-on Training Unit for process technology training. They also joined the Texas House of Representatives hearing in Port Arthur, titled "Protecting Texas LNG Exports Committee," to discuss the effects of the federal suspension of exports. They attended the Friendswood Rotary in Galveston County to celebrate Small Business Week and the Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce's monthly breakfast. Yesterday, Team Weber participated in the National Prayer events in Galveston, Friendswood, Dickinson, Angleton, Lake Jackson, Richwood, and Freeport. In Brazoria County, Team Weber also stopped by the West Columbia Rotary Club's annual broiled shrimp festival, Brazoria County Association for Children's Habilitation's Walking the Runway for Autism, and the Brazosport Professionals Network meeting to discuss ways to help the youth of Brazoria County.