Principled limited government constitutional conservative Rep. Chip Roy (TX-21) led a group
of 50 House Republicans to object to President Joe Biden’s refusal to enforce U.S. immigration law.
The letter begins with a rundown of recent data from the southern border which includes soaring daily apprehensions, rates of unaccompanied minor illegal entry attempts that rival the border crisis of Summer 2019, and monthly illegal immigration numbers since October that far outpace the same period from the previous fiscal year.
“Despite these rising numbers, on your first day as President, you signed multiple Executive Orders (EO) aimed at dismantling the security of our borders - rescinding policies from the Trump Administration that were working as intended to halt the flow of illegal migration. The Biden Administration directives on stopping the building of border infrastructure, revoking policies aimed at carrying out interior enforcement, halting deportations for 100 days, and suspending the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) enrollment have all communicated that our borders are open.”
"Mr. President, the fundamental responsibility of the federal government is to protect America, not to ignore the law and to actively encourage, incentivize, and facilitate illegal migration ..." the group letter to Biden said.
The Republicans warned President Biden of a brewing "crisis" of illegal migration at the southern border amid indications of a surge in numbers -- just as Biden has forged forward with a number of policies limiting border security and interior enforcement.
"This is not a political game -- we implore you not to let ideology blind you administration to the need to secure the border, to defend Americans, and to prevent another cartel-empowering humanitarian crisis," the letter, as reported by Fox News, says.
The letter says sources on the ground have told the Representatives that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have seen the average daily flow of migrants at the border surge to more than 3,500 a day from 2,000 last month. Meanwhile, the number of unaccompanied alien children is approaching 300 a day.
"CBP hasn’t seen numbers like this since the height of the immigration crisis in the summer of 2019," the lawmakers said. "CBP has already encountered over 200,000 illegal migrants since October and numbers are rising. For context, in the first three months of fiscal year 2020, CBP encountered 128,347," the lawmakers say.
Fox reported the Republicans link the surge at the border to the new outlook by the new administration, arguing that numbers increased during the transition and that such an increase was "foreseeable."
"Further it is concerning to see your administration perceive our border security issues as a political game instead of the very serious threat open borders provide to Americans and the migrants seeking to come here," the letter says.
"We are once again on the brink of a huge humanitarian crisis, endangering the lives of migrants and law enforcement officers at the hands of the violent cartels that your administration has further empowered," it says.
The lawmakers note that, so far, Biden has not rescinded the Title 42 public health order that allows migrants to be swiftly returned -- but warn that if he does, it would lead to "catastrophic" flows overnight.
The surge in migration comes amid a series of new open borders policies announced by the Biden administration that have repealed or undermined the get-tough policies of the Trump administration.
Biden has stopped construction of the wall at the southern border, proposed a pathway to citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants, strengthened protections for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and sought to impose a 100-day moratorium on deportations. He has also ordered a review of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), which keeps migrants in Mexico as they await their immigration hearings.
The Biden administration has also been forced recently to open a new overflow facility to deal with unaccompanied child migrants coming into the country.
We urge CHQ readers and friends to contact the White House switchboard 202-456-1111 to let President Biden know you oppose opening America’s borders and support strong enforcement of our immigration laws, as set forth in the Chip Roy letter. You can also contact President Biden through the White House web portal.
Chip Roy
illegal immigration
open borders
Joe Biden
immigration policy
sanctuary cities
border enforcement
amnesty
deportation
Biden executive orders
border security
unaccompanied alien children
DACA
Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP)