Jason Smith: The American people know our southern border is in total chaos

(From Eighth District Congressman Jason Smith)

For far too long, Washington Democrats and the liberal media have worked hand-in-hand to mislead Americans about the situation on our border. They say that the border is secure and that Biden’s agenda is working. And if you don’t believe them, they call you ignorant – or even worse – racist. 

We saw a panel on MSNBC mock Virginia Republicans who listed the border as a top priority during coverage of Super Tuesday. More recently, a Democrat in Congress told the audience at a candidate forum to "forget the border" and called it a "Republican talking point and a distraction."

Washington Democrats and the liberal media are wrong on every level. A recent poll found that Americans believe the border crisis is the most important problem facing our nation. In another recent poll, 73% of respondents said they want the Biden administration to “make it tougher to get in the U.S. illegally.” Interestingly, that includes 56% of Democrats and 78% of independents.

The truth is that the American people know that our border is in absolute chaos. And they are sick and tired of the Left and liberal media trying to protect Biden from being held accountable for creating the worst border crisis in history. Americans know that the reason we’ve had more than 10 million illegal border entries under Biden is because he took a sledgehammer to former President Donald Trump’s effective immigration agenda.

Let’s start with Biden’s move to reinstate catch-and-release, one of the most damaging – and dangerous – examples of his border policies. Hospitals, shelters, and schools are getting overwhelmed because they can’t handle the massive influx of illegal immigrants. What’s also alarming is that in many cases, we have no idea who these individuals are. According to a county official in San Diego, a “minimum” of 125,000 illegal immigrants have been released from detention “without proper vetting” onto the city’s streets in just a span of six months. Without sufficient vetting, there is no way to know if the people coming across the border are dangerous criminals or evil terrorists.

On Day One of his administration, Biden made the reckless decision to cancel construction of Trump’s border wall. Back in March, we saw a shocking video where illegal immigrants broke through razor wire then overpowered the Texas National Guard at the El Paso border. In addition to ending construction on Trump’s border wall, the Biden administration is doing everything it can to stop Texas Governor Greg Abbott from taking matters into his own hands by putting up his own wall along the border.







In 2022, Biden got rid of Remain in Mexico, one of the most effective border policies put in place by the Trump administration. When I led a group of my Republican colleagues on a fact-finding mission to the southern border a few years ago, border patrol officials told us that Remain in Mexico, which held illegals seeking asylum on the other side of the border versus being released in the U.S., was one of the most important tools in curbing incentives to illegally cross into our nation.

While the Left and liberal media continue to mislead and insult the American people, House Republicans are fighting tooth and nail to advance the policies we need to end this crisis. As your congressman, you can rest assured that I will NEVER stop fighting to make our border secure again.

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