For years, I’ve been sounding the alarm on the Biden administration’s border crisis, and just last month, border encounters reached a new record of 232,972. For context, this is enough illegal immigrants to fill Alabama, Auburn, Troy, and South Alabama’s football stadiums.
And that’s just one month’s worth. This is happening every single month, and it’s only getting worse.
That’s why my colleagues and I have made securing the border a top priority in the Republican-controlled House. One of the first things we did was pass H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, which was a historic border security and immigration enforcement bill that reverses President Biden’s open border policies.
Despite this bill not being taken up by the Senate, we are now using the power of the purse to force the Biden administration to secure the border and enforce the laws we have on the books. Just last week, the House advanced (and I proudly voted for) the Fiscal Year 2024 Homeland Security Appropriations Act, which funds the priorities we laid out in H.R. 2.
This Appropriations bill secures our southern border by providing over $2 billion for construction of the wall, providing nearly half a billion dollars for 22,000 Border Patrol Agents (the highest level ever funded), restores border security technology, and forces Secretary Mayorkas to follow the law and build physical barriers. It also provides billions to fund ICE’s ability to detain and deport dangerous criminals, while countering China and bolstering our national security.
We also included language to prevent the Biden administration from dismantling existing portions of the wall, not prosecuting certain criminals, and allowing our border to be overrun. We have laws on the books already, but the Biden administration is not enforcing them. That’s why we are using the Appropriations process and the power of the purse to force them to follow the law, get tough on the border, and put an end to this crisis.
Every state – including Alabama – has become a border state due to Biden’s Border Crisis. We’re seeing criminals and illegal drugs pour into our communities at record rates, and it’s affecting all of us.
House Republicans are not giving up the fight, and I can promise you I won’t either.
Jerry Carl represents Alabama’s First Congressional District. He lives in Mobile with his wife Tina.
