By Jason Smith, member of Congress
WASHININGTON, D.C. – Thanks to President Joe Biden and Washington Democrats, our country is in the midst of multiple crises. Inflation continues at a 40-year high; grocery shelves are empty due to supply chain disruptions; Americans are paying on average over $4 per gallon at the pump; foreign dictators like Vladimir Putin feel emboldened to attack other nations, destroy the peace, and harm the world’s economies; and in the past year, two million illegal immigrants have crossed our compromised southern border. Just last month, more than 164,000 illegal immigrants were apprehended – the highest February total in 22 years! Our nation is drowning in one crisis after another.
It sickens me to see our southern border so undefended, and Washington Democrats unwilling to lift a finger to help Republicans address the problem. Biden and his liberal allies have fooled themselves into believing that if they ignore this problem then it will just go away. That’s been the strategy of our incompetent “Border Czar” Vice President Kamala Harris. You would think the person tasked with solving this problem would regularly visit the border – but she’s only been one time in the entire 13 months she’s had the job. And this crisis is not going anywhere. As long as there is no effort by the Biden Administration to stop them, illegal immigrants will not stop coming. That is why I coauthored a bill calling on the Vice President to be removed from her position as “Border Czar.”
Under President Trump, America did more to secure its border than under any other President. We enacted policies to build the wall, discourage illegal crossings, closed immigration loopholes, and pushed for much needed increases in Border Patrol agents. But since taking office, the Biden Administration has undone – or tried to undo – all that progress.
President Biden and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas do not care that construction materials are rusting in piles on the ground at the border. They do not care that in the last year our border patrol has seized almost 90,000 pounds of narcotics, including 600 pounds of lethal fentanyl – enough to kill every American man, woman, and child. They do not care that women and children are assaulted, trafficked, and even murdered while traveling the dangerous route north. Biden would rather cut critical resources that prevent illegal immigration and instead redirect those funds towards policies that increase Washington’s command and control over the lives of the American people.
Adding insult to injury, some states and cities actually have policies that fuel this crisis. For example, in 2017, Luis Perez, an illegal immigrant, was arrested in New Jersey for domestic violence. Local officials were instructed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold him, but because of local sanctuary city policies, he was let go. The result? Perez fled to Missouri where he murdered three innocent people in 2018. Sadly, this is just one tragic example of hundreds.
This week, I met with Angel Families who shared with me some of these heartbreaking stories. These are families whose loved ones have been murdered and maimed through drunk driving or violent crime, all made possible by the sanctuary cities that protect these criminals. It is unacceptable!
Sanctuary cities are an embarrassment to our nation, yet these and other policies that encourage illegal immigration are supported by President Biden and his liberal allies. In fact, during the first days of his presidency, Biden halted border wall construction, reinstated catch-and-release, and ended the remain-in-Mexico policy. Only through a court order have we been able to at least get the remain-in-Mexico policy reinstated.
Democrats will not even call this crisis what it is. This week, I testified at a hearing that the two million illegal immigrants who have crossed our southern border are an urgent matter for Congress to address. Instead of agreeing with me, Washington Democrats claimed my testimony was “offensive” and would “prevent a productive conversation” all because I referred to those who crossed the border illegally as “illegals.” Democrats will not even agree to review their border policies. In January, I joined 105 Republican Members of Congress in sending a letter to the Department of Homeland Security requesting a comprehensive review of the terrible decisions the Biden Administration has made on our border crisis. Over two months later, it has been crickets from the Department. If Washington Democrats continue to refuse to put good policies in place, our nation will continue to suffer from this crisis.
Washington needs to secure our southern border and do better for Missourians and Americans nationwide. President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Washington Democrats owe it to the grieving families who have lost loved ones to stop the flood of illegal immigrants pouring into our country.