As published by the Daily Caller
Since President Biden took office, there have been over seven million illegal crossings of our Southern Border and 1.7 million known gotaways who evaded U.S. Border Patrol.
Under the watch of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, our border has been ceded to the drug cartels, unleashing a fentanyl crisis that, according to the CDC, recently killed 112,000 people in a 12-month period for the first time.
Millions of illegal immigrants have been released into American communities with court dates scheduled far into the next decade. The system is broken and leaves Americans vulnerable to preventable crimes.
In May, House Republicans passed H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, as a comprehensive bill to finish the wall, end catch-and-release policies, reinstate the Remain in Mexico program and recruit more Customs and Border Patrol agents.
However, the Senate refuses to act on this critical bill. Instead, they have spent months attempting to strike a backroom deal that will make no discernible difference at the border. They could pass the Secure the Border Act and send it to the president. But they haven’t. And they won’t.
To distract from his own failures, President Joe Biden is pointing fingers and throwing blame back on Congress. But, contrary to Biden’s recent comments, he has all the authority needed to secure the border. He could simply reverse the executive actions he took in his first hundred days in office that eliminated President Trump’s border policies. The policies we know work.
But House Republicans will not relent. We are committed to a robust response to fix our broken borders, despite the apathy shown by the White House and Senate Democrats.
In January, the Homeland Security Committee voted to formalize articles of impeachment against Mayorkas for “failure to comply with existing laws and breach of public trust.” His dereliction of duty clearly continues to escalate a border crisis that endangers Americans. This must stop. I will strongly support impeaching Mayorkas if it comes before the House for a vote this week.
Americans are fed up with excuses. They are sick of talk about securing the border. They want action. I urge the Senate and the president to do the job Americans elected them to do and help get these commonsense measures across the finish line..
Congressman Scott Franklin represents Florida’s 18th District. He is a retired Naval Aviator and a member of the House Appropriations, Veterans Affairs, and Science, Space and Technology committees.