On August 1, I played a key role in the passage of two pieces of legislation intended to address the ongoing border crisis and block the continued use of President Obama's policy against deporting certain illegal immigrants already present in the United States. Combined, the two bills seek to combat the existing problems caused by the arrival of tens of thousands of illegal immigrants, primarily from the Central American nations of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, and prevent conditions from growing worse. I was among a small group of lawmakers who met the night before the vote to go over the legislation and strengthen its provisions.
From the first day I came to Congress, I have been asking that we do something about illegal immigration. For a long time I got nowhere, but with the border crisis unfolding right before the eyes of the nation, more and more people now understand the scope of the problem. We have successfully moved the conversation away from providing amnesty for illegal immigrants, and towards why we must protect our borders, and strengthen and enforce our laws. Let's remember that this current crisis is the president's own creation and we are trying to fix it. To be clear, this does not solve every problem we have with illegal immigration and border security, but these bills specifically address the border crisis, and are very important policy changes.