Trump Already Affecting Border Security
After the election of President-elect Trump, one change expected for the incoming Administration is the reversal of the Biden-Harris Administration’s open borders policies.
During Trump’s first term, securing the border was a priority. Thanks to the institution of policies like the Migrant Protection Protocols, better known as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, Trump stemmed the tide of illegal immigration across our southern border.
According to a report from the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security (Mark Green), between Fiscal Years 2017 and 2020 under Trump, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported 3 million illegal alien encounters nationwide.
Under Biden-Harris, these policies were discarded or allowed to expire. As a result, illegal immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border has exploded.
Moreover, catch-and-release practices under Biden’s Administration contributed to the release of millions into the interior of the United States without sufficient vetting or screening, heightening public and national security concerns.
Since Biden’s inauguration in January 2021, there have been more than 10.4 million illegal alien encounters nationwide, according to CBP data.
These millions of illegal aliens receive benefits in the forms of significant medical attention and health care, access to education and enrollment in social service programs like SNAP, at the expense of American taxpayers at the local, state and federal levels.
This is unsustainable, and Americans sent an overwhelming message this year that border security must be taken more seriously.
With a change in White House leadership, House Republicans and some Democrats are committed to working with President Trump to strengthen our border and equip border patrol authorities with the necessary tools and resources to stem the flow of illegal immigration.
Although not yet in office, Trump’s election is sending shockwaves to illegal aliens.
Reuters News highlights a migrant caravan traveling through Mexico in November that has shrunk in size following news of his election.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas met with heads of CBP as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to discuss operational readiness in the event of a migrant influx. In other words, preparing for a rush across the border before it is too late.
NBC News cites the operator of a migrant shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, who predicts smugglers will pressure immigrants to start crossing now before it is too late.
The operator of the shelter might call them smugglers, but the rest of us know them as “coyotes” who work for the illicit Mexican cartels.
President-elect Trump has announced he will tap his former acting ICE director, Tom Holman, as his border czar.
Holman will work to reverse Biden-Harris open borders policies and activate immigration enforcement, and that includes migrant deportations, starting with those who have committed crimes.
The Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, also estimates that there are roughly 1.3 million immigrants who have already been issued removal orders but remain in the United States.
States will have a hand in contributing to the deportation effort. Governor Youngkin understands the importance of this subject. Virginia communities, including rural ones like some in the Ninth District, have seen the threats posed by gang-related activity and drug trafficking.
Back in 2017, Lynchburg teen Raymond Wood was abducted and brutally murdered in Bedford County by members of MS-13, a mainly Salvadoran gang. Six men were charged and convicted.
The Mexican-based New Generation Jalisco Cartel had roots in towns such as Axton in Henry County, where they stored and distributed drugs.
As the fentanyl crisis, fueled by Mexican cartels, upends American communities, it will be essential to stem illegal drugs from coming across the border. And we must curtail the cartel’s side business of bringing illegal immigrants here.
Some Democratic governors are already objecting to the idea of working with the incoming Trump Administration to assist deportation efforts. Interestingly, some of the same people were requesting assistance with the overwhelming surge in migration to their states earlier this year!
Is deportation new? No!
President Obama oversaw the deportation of more than five million people as commander-in-chief (although that number pales in comparison to the Administrations of Presidents Clinton and Bush, who deported more than 10 million each).
Mexico must also cooperate fully with the Trump Administration to curb illegal immigration. Days after the election, Mexico’s newly elected President Claudia Sheinbaum called Trump.
Because of the Biden Administration, every community in America is a border community. This trend must be reversed, and I will do whatever I can to support President-elect Trump’s goal in closing the border.
If you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to contact my office. You can call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office via email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov.
