Palazzo: Defending our Border

Statement

This week, we saw members of the migrant caravan rush our border, assault our Border Patrol agents, and attempt to illegally enter our country by breaking through the existing barricades. This behavior was completely predictable as the caravan has already violently entered other countries .

There are 8,500 members in the moving caravan and we have confirmed there are at least 600 convicted criminals traveling among the group. These criminals have been identified by law enforcement and have a know history of assault, battery, drug crimes, burglary, rape, child abuse and more.

I believe our President made the right decision by deploying troops to the southern border. The United States will not apologize for defending our borders against those who are assaulting our law enforcement agents, and also those who wish to circumvent our laws to enter the country illegally. I applaud our brave men and women currently at the border working to ensure we keep Americans safe and uphold our rule of law.

In Congress, I have supported multiple bills that work to secure our borders. As the Vice Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, I have supported $5 billion in funding for the border wall. Additionally, I have supported legislation that eliminates the visa lottery, revises our annual immigration levels, mandates e-verify, ends catch and release, and closes the loopholes hurting our immigration system.

Border security is national security, and we must set politics aside when discussing the safety and security of our country. Secure the border, enforce the law.

Mars Landing
It was a big week for NASA as they successfully landed the InSight Lander on the surface of Mars. InSight will remain stationary during the planned two-year mission and will collect data by capturing photos, allowing us to learn about the inside of Mars for the very first time.

President Trump's Administration has renewed its support for American space exploration and development and we are seeing major accomplishments from the hardworking men and women at NASA. As the former Chairman of the Space Subcommittee for five years, I understand the importance of America leading the rest of the world in space exploration.

National Cotton Council
This week, I had a productive meeting with members of the National Cotton Council. In our meeting, we covered many topics including the Farm Bill as well as supplemental assistance in response to the recent disasters that have made significant impacts on the cotton industry.

In your service,

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