The Southern Border is a National Security Crisis; President Biden Must Deploy National Guard and VP Harris Must Brief the Republican Conference

Statement

Today, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) released the following statement on the national security crisis at the southern border:

"Immediately after President Biden was sworn into office, he dismantled many policies in place that had kept our border safe and illegal border crossings low. President Biden's dangerous immigration orders immediately led to a historic crisis along the southern border. Earlier this year, Republicans released our five policy pillars to address this disaster and demanded the Administration take action to get the crisis under control.

"President Biden appointed Vice President Kamala Harris "Border Czar' on March 24, 2021. Leading up to the Vice President's appointment, over 274,000 migrants had been apprehended along the southern border. According to the Biden administration, the Vice President's mission was "stemming the migration to our southern border.'

"Since she was appointed, over 970,000 migrants have been apprehended entering our country at the southern border. Under the Biden Administration, over 1.2 million migrants have been apprehended entering our country illegally -- and that's just who our over-worked and under-resourced Border Patrol agents caught. Recently, over 10,000 migrants have surged to the border in Del Rio. It is no coincidence this is happening as Democrats in Congress are moving to pass legislation that would grant immediate citizenship for up to 10 million illegal immigrants. This is a wakeup call to Democrats that their policies are putting American lives in danger and must be abandoned.

"Among the migrants illegally crossing, Border Patrol agents have apprehended individuals on the terrorist watch list and seizures of the fatal drug Fentanyl have increased dramatically. This is not just a humanitarian crisis, this is a direct threat to the safety of Americans across the country.

"The Biden Administration must recognize this for what it is: A National Security Crisis. As such he must fully deploy the National Guard to the southern border to help our Border Patrol agents with more resources to control the situation.

"It also has been reported that the airspace over the border had been restricted to a news organization. I understand it has recently been reopened but great clarity is needed on why it was closed in the first place.

"Finally, the country must hear from the people in charge of this failed response. I am inviting the Vice President to brief Members of the Republican Conference next week to provide an update on the Administration's plan to secure our southern border and our country.

"It's time President Biden and Vice President Harris put the safety of Americans first."

Source