WASHINGTON—This week, Representative Scott Franklin (R-Fla.) joined House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member James Comer (R-Ky.) and Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-N.M.) in El Paso, Texas and along the southern border in New Mexico to examine President Biden’s border crisis. Biden’s border crisis continues to escalate, encouraging human smugglers to profit from the administration’s open borders policies and placing migrant families and unaccompanied children at risk as they seek to come to the United States illegally.

“What I saw and experienced evoked a wide range of emotions: Heartbreaking instances of young, unaccompanied children abandoned at the border,” Rep. Franklin said. “The fear and trauma of our citizens living along the border who are confronted with the drug smuggling and human trafficking operations of murderous cartels. The frustration of solid, law-abiding American citizens who feel their government has betrayed and abandoned them.”

“We must end ‘Catch and Release’ and reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols that successfully reduced the numbers of border incursions,” Franklin continued. “Officials confirmed that only 10-12% of people who come here seeking asylum are deemed to have legitimate cases; the rest are sent back. By requiring them to remain in Mexico instead of being released into the U.S. while their asylum requests are adjudicated, the roughly 90% whose cases are false won’t risk the journey, and those with legitimate cause to seek asylum can obtain it expeditiously.”

“This isn’t an ‘anti-immigrant’ message. We are a nation of immigrants. But to remain the world’s brightest beacon of hope, we must acknowledge that a fundamental part of what makes America so attractive is our adherence to the rule of law. What’s being allowed to happen at our southern border is NOT immigration—it’s unabated chaos,” Franklin concluded.

Rep. Franklin toured the Border Patrol Station 1, the El Paso Processing Center and the Santa Teresa Port of Entry; heard the trying stories of local officials and ranchers in New Mexico; toured the border wall, including the location where construction has ceased because of President Biden’s executive order; and participated in a night ride with the National Border Patrol Council.

President Trump signed several executive orders to deter, slow, and in some cases stop the flow of migrants into the United States, most of which President Biden has since rescinded or revoked. The rescinded orders include commonsense policies like declaring the crisis at our southern border a national emergency; the Migrant Protection Protocols, which allowed migrants to remain in Mexico to await hearings rather than be released into the interior of the United States; allowing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prioritize the removal of all illegal immigrants, especially those who committed crimes, posed a national security risk, engaged in fraud or willful representation before the government, or abused welfare programs; and construction of the border wall.

As a result, the crisis is on track to be the worst in 20 years, according to DHS. In March of 2021:

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) encountered over 172,000 illegal immigrants at the southwest border, the highest monthly total in 15 years and an increase of 400% compared to March 2020.
• CBP encountered nearly 19,000 unaccompanied alien children (UACs), an increase of 486% compared to March 2020.
• CBP encountered more than 53,000 family units at the southwest border, an increase of 1056% compared to March 2020.

President Biden’s administration has opened twelve emergency shelters for unaccompanied minors since he took office. The Biden Administration has also reduced background checks on staff and volunteers caring for UACs by waiving the fingerprint-based FBI background checks due to the need to more quickly staff emergency intake facilities for UACs. To date, neither President Biden nor Vice President Harris have visited the border to witness conditions firsthand.  

Rep. Franklin and Oversight Republicans have repeatedly called on the Biden Administration to provide a plan to address the issue at the border, but they have not provided one. Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) has also ignored calls from Republicans, including Rep. Franklin, calling for a hearing about the crisis.

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