Getting Serious About Border Security

Border security has long been a serious challenge facing our nation. Between the 1,933 miles of the US-Mexico border and the 5,525 miles comprising our borders with Canada, there is no shortage of vulnerabilities which can be exploited by America’s enemies. Ignoring this fact creates a crisis of national security, humanitarian concern, economic strain, and public safety. Sadly, under the open border policies of the Biden-Harris administration, the crisis has gotten worse.

Lax and unsecure borders present just the kind of weakness criminal gangs, international adversaries, and state sponsors of terrorism such as Iran would seek to exploit. To protect Americans, we must restore sound border policy.

While the volume of illegal crossings is greater on our southern border, the risk of entry by bad actors via Canada has risen under the Biden-Harris administration. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), border agents encountered 422 individuals on the terror watchlist—of whom 283 were apprehended on the U.S.-Canada border—trying to enter the U.S. between ports of entry in the first 10 months of Fiscal Year 2024. Furthermore, a September 30, 2024, report from the DHS Office of Inspector General highlighted concerns about individuals DHS released into our country who had no identification nor any other reliable way to verify their self-reported personal information.

After years of denying the real concerns of the American people regarding inadequate border security, this year the current administration has cynically pivoted to create a veneer of concern. Early in 2024, when the issue gained increased national attention and media coverage, the administration issued press releases on border security which proved to be little more than virtue signaling, with no meaningful deterrence of illegal behavior. The so-called “bipartisan border agreement” which is not even bipartisan enough to achieve cloture and be debated in the Senate is based around expanding federal authorities to stop illegal crossings when those crossing exceed a 4,000 or 5,000 per day threshold. It should be clear that 4,000 or 5,000 illegal crossing attempts per day outside our legitimate ports of entry is 4,000 or 5,000 too many.

In fact, Vice President Harris’s trip to the southern border this September was her first since 2021, the year President Biden publicly placed her in charge of efforts to stem the tide of illegal immigration. During the last four years, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has repeatedly claimed the border is secure. While visiting the border in January earlier this year, I have seen the reality is the opposite. As illegal human and drug trafficking continues, the Vice President’s inattentiveness to the location, alongside the Department of Justice’s efforts to sue the state of Texas for actions taken to secure its own section of the border, show an executive branch led by Biden-Harris which is inexplicably working against what it takes to protect the American people.

Getting serious about border security would include returning to policies which were successful at stemming the tide of illegal immigration under the Trump administration: completion of the border wall, ending catch-and-release, and reinstating Remain in Mexico. The need for repair and upgrades to technology used in border security operations is also urgent. Earlier this month, reporting on a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) memo revealed 30 percent of cameras used for security operations on the border are not functional. Not only does this hinder CBP efforts to do their job and uphold the rule of law, it fails to protect agents who put their lives on the line to protect our country.

Legislation passed by House Republicans this Congress, H.R. 2, directly addresses the need for investment in border security. Yet Democrats have repeatedly rejected the bill’s real solutions to restoring sound border policy on behalf of the American people. My own visit to the border this year was troubling, to say the least, as I observed the consequences of the White House’s neglect and irresponsibility. We cannot continue to accept a status quo which threatens both national security and public safety. The federal government is expected to secure the borders of our country. We must restore commonsense border policy and keep Americans safe.