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BY SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN
One year ago this week, the nation watched as Kamala Harris put her hand on the Bible and repeated an oath to “preserve, protect, and defend” our Constitution as the country’s Vice President. Already, the Border Czar’s record is tarnished by a clear refusal to uphold this commitment. As we recognize National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the consequences of her broken promise are playing out along our southern border.
In 2021, law enforcement apprehended nearly two million migrants entering our nation from Mexico. To put that into context, encounters were up 140% percent in November of last year compared to 2020. These astronomical statistics don’t begin to account for the thousands of migrants each month that are able to evade law enforcement. The administration claims they can pin the blame for the border crisis on economic and political conflict abroad, but it is Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s own policies that have allowed the flood of illegal immigration to reach such disastrous proportions.
In fact, the administration’s refusal to secure the border has made traffickers’ jobs easier. These criminals prey on the desperate and vulnerable, and the administration’s decision to suspend President Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” rule, halt border wall construction, and expand the already long list of available taxpayer programs has sent thousands upon thousands of migrants right into their hands. Former acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan has explained the connection saying, “When you increase the number of people being smuggled, the increase in trafficking goes along with that.” The administration knows their open-border agenda makes more migrants vulnerable to trafficking, but they are determined to implement it anyway.
The White House’s empty proclamations and weak policies have intentionally avoided calls to action to address the well-established link between trafficking and illegal immigration. Vice President Harris hasn’t even made it a priority to see the full extent of the chaos. Morgan called out Harris for avoiding “the epicenter of this catastrophic crisis” on her only trip to the U.S.-Mexico border. The administration has done their very best to brand her current publicity campaign highlighting the “root cause” of illegal immigration as the logical diplomatic solution, but in reality, her talks with representatives from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras mean nothing when subsequent inaction lures migrants into the clutches of traffickers.
Kamala Harris’s refusal to secure the border is a blatant violation of her oath to “preserve, protect, and defend.” This National Human Trafficking Prevention Month is a prime opportunity for her to step up to make good on her promise — starting with witnessing the crisis firsthand. Until she does, women, children, and families will needlessly suffer at the hands of monsters.
(Marsha Blackburn represents Tennessee in the U.S. Senate)