Immigration
The United States’ southern border has experienced 18 consecutive months of over 150,000 illegal border crossings each month. In fact, 3.5 million people have been apprehended at the border since President Biden took office, and Fiscal Year 2022 has seen the highest number of illegal border crossings in the history of our country. Border security is getting worse, and it’s clear the Biden administration has lost control of our border.
As tensions rise as a result of Russia's occupation of Ukraine and China's military exercises in the waters and airspace around Taiwan, our very own homeland security is at risk of being overlooked. Alarming data from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) reveal CBP encountered a record 239,416 individuals attempting to enter our country illegally at our southern border during the month of May – an increase of 32 percent over CBP encounters in May 2021 and a staggering 930 percent over 2020.
There is a crisis at our southern border, and President Biden is only making it worse. At the end of March, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced it was on track to surpass one million encounters with immigrants illegally crossing our borders over the last six months. CBP data show there were 164,973 migrant encounters at our southern border in February, up 7 percent from January and 63 percent from February of last year. These staggering numbers do not include the number of illegal migrants who eluded border agents.
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) joined over 70 of his colleagues in sending a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra amid reports the Biden Administration is considering paying $450,000 per person to families who illegally crossed the southern border in 2018.
Last week while appearing at a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, President Biden's Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed, "the border is secure." Anyone who has read a newspaper or watched a newscast could tell you it isn't, yet the Biden Administration insists it is. Enough is enough; they cannot ignore the border crisis.
At the forefront of many Americans' minds right now, including mine, is the situation at our southern border. The surge of illegal immigrants attempting to enter our country at the Unites States-Mexico border is a serious problem with sweeping implications for national security, drug smuggling, and public safety, before even considering the health and safety of the skyrocketing numbers of unaccompanied children. Our country is a beacon of freedom and opportunity, but our legal process must be upheld and abided by to ensure the continued existence of such opportunity.
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement regarding his visit to the United States-Mexico border:
"We face significant challenges on our southern border. Illegal crossings, drug smuggling and the increase in unaccompanied minors have highlighted the need for enhanced border security. The President is correct for his focus on strengthening our border. I salute and respect our Border Patrol who are on the front lines of our national security."
As recent trends demonstrate, we must take border security seriously. In May, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped 144,000 people from illegally entering the United States – the most in one month since 2006. This incredible number of people is almost three times the population of Grand Island.
Our borders reflect the history, geography, and sovereignty of our nation. We monitor and defend them for a number of reasons, including the protection of American citizens from illegal drugs and individuals who would do us harm. The United States is a nation of laws, applied broadly and evenly, with no person outside their reach. If any of us break the law, we face consequences. Our society and legal system rely on these consequences to discourage widespread crime.