Press Releases

In an op-ed in the Washington Examiner, Rep. French Hill (AR-02) recounted his recent trip to the southwest border, his second trip under President Biden and eighth overall.

The full op-ed can be read below.

Biden's border inaction is irresponsible and deadly
by Rep. French Hill
The Washington Examiner

In the 497 days since President Joe Biden was sworn into office, his administration has made it clear it has no intention of addressing the unprecedented crisis taking place at our southwest border.

For Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to testify in front of Congress that "we do" have operational control of our southwest border was laughable. It was an affront to the brave men and women serving on the border, and to the states and border communities that have been left to combat this crisis largely on their own.

Since Biden took office, there have been over 2.4 million migrant encounters at our southwest border, and that's just the number of migrants we know about. There have also been more than 750,000 "got-aways" who have evaded Border Patrol agents. One million people have been released under "catch and release," and more than 700 migrants have died attempting to enter our country illegally .

That's not operational control.

Much of this can be attributed to the Biden administration's decision to repeal many of the Trump-era border protection policies and replace them with absolutely nothing. No successful manager ends a working policy and replaces it with nothing.

One of Biden's first actions as president was to cancel border wall construction authorized by Congress, which has resulted in DHS paying out $72 million in taxpayer funds over canceled contracts and deals with suppliers. In February 2021, his administration abandoned President Trump's Northern Triangle Agreements, and in June 2021, DHS Secretary Mayorkas canceled President Trump's "remain in Mexico" policy. Had it not been for a federal judge blocking the Biden administration from ending Title 42 — a critical public health and safety effort at the border — the southwest border certainly would have been even more overwhelmed.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have yet to visit the southwest border to see the crisis firsthand. But I recently made my second trip since Biden was sworn in, and my eighth overall. On this trip, I had the opportunity to tour the San Diego sector and San Ysidro port of entry, the same border sector I had visited in May 2016. While there, I was pleased to see the technological improvements put in place during the Trump administration but disappointed with the shortcomings due to the Biden administration's inaction.

This sector has 61 miles of border, 45 of which are fenced. Over that distance, the Border Patrol arrests about 450 people each day. I watched as a migrant illegally trying to cross was apprehended by an ATV patrol. As I learned, quality border fencing shapes the terrain and facilitates better patrol planning. Unfortunately, Biden halted the construction of the border wall, leaving several miles of the border exposed. These gaps send exactly the wrong message to the drug cartels and those seeking to enter our country illegally.

Overall, this port of entry accounts for 24% of individuals coming to our nation. Because of this, it is also a major drug interdiction location, accounting for 59% of the fentanyl seized at the border. I witnessed a California registered car with a driver holding a California driver's license busted for cocaine and fentanyl hidden in the wheel rims. To date, Customs and Border Protection has seized 6,600 pounds of fentanyl, enough to kill 2.4 billion people. And that's just the amount we catch. Illicit fentanyl is crippling our communities and is now the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2021.

The ramifications of the administration's inaction are seen in our communities every day. Millions of people are pouring into our country illegally, without documentation or concern for public health; fentanyl is flooding our communities and killing our families and friends. Every state is now a border state.

With the Biden administration asleep at the wheel, House Republicans will continue to shed light on the crisis and offer solutions. In my view, that means resuming wall construction and reinstating the Trump-era border policies to secure our southwest border and communities across the nation. The Biden administration has failed the American people. Its inaction is irresponsible, incompetent, and will only result in further disorder and chaos.

French Hill represents Arkansas's 2nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.