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5.3 million. That’s the estimated number of illegal immigrants who have been apprehended at the southern border since Joe Biden took office. Another 1.5 million so-called “gotaways” have evaded Border Patrol agents and entered the country without being caught. An Afghan national and a Pakistani national, both on the FBI Terrorism Watch List, were caught trying to enter the U.S. last week. Just days ago, a group of 30 Chinese nationals were caught having crossed the border illegally in the Rio Grande Valley. In New York, homeless veterans were kicked out of a hotel in order to make way for illegal immigrants. This is the reality of the Biden border crisis. Biden’s goal throughout his presidency has been to make illegal immigration legal. Two days before Title 42 was lifted, Border Patrol saw a record 11,000 illegal immigrants cross the border in a single day. There has been a lull in border crossings since Title 42 expired, but there is a good reason for this. Because of the Biden administration’s incompetence, the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety have been assisting Border Patrol in apprehending migrants and intercepting drug smugglers; Mexico has launched its own efforts to prevent migrants from reaching our southern border. Now, Florida is sending support to Texas to help do the job that the Biden administration refuses to do.
For its part, the Biden administration has been processing migrants in Latin American countries, allegedly to curb the number of migrants arriving at the border. In reality, this is Biden’s way of discreetly fast-tracking the number of illegal immigrants entering the U.S. Moreover, tens of thousands of migrants are using Customs and Border Protection’s One mobile app, which allows migrants to schedule appointments with DHS officials at the border. The problem? They’re doing this knowing there is a 99 percent chance they will be released into the U.S.
Instead of making it easier for migrants to enter the U.S., why wouldn’t the nation’s top law enforcement officers focus on enforcing the law and securing the border? They refuse to answer that question. Democrats are prioritizing illegal immigrants over the health and safety of every U.S. citizen – even our kids. Nothing has made this more clear than the recent meltdown in New York, where illegal immigrants are being housed in school gyms and playgrounds. Children deserve better than to go to school alongside this potential security threat. Parents cannot feel their children are in a safe environment when they send them to school next to a gym that houses illegal immigrants, many of whom could be single men who have not been vetted. Amid an obesity epidemic among our youngsters, kids will be unable to go to recess for the sake of providing housing to illegal immigrants.
Every state has become a border state under the Biden administration. As a result of the surge in illegal immigration, Texas has been busing migrants to Democrat-run “sanctuary cities” such as New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot previously complained that the city is overwhelmed by the busing, as has New York City Mayor Eric Adams who also alleged the busing was racist. This just goes to show you that despite their support for open borders, Democratic cities can’t even handle a fraction of the migrant influx impacting border communities. Texas has correctly responded to this disaster by busing illegal immigrants to Kamala Harris’ doorstep in Washington, D.C. This mess is the Biden administration’s own making, and they should have to see the consequences of their open border policies with their own eyes.
It’s time we secure the border and protect the American people. Americans should come first, not illegal immigrants. Those who are here illegally should be deported, not welcomed with open arms, and they certainly should not displace or disrupt veterans and school children. Biden’s policies are creating a borderless country, and a country without borders is no country at all.
(Marsha Blackburn represents Tennessee in the U.S. Senate)