WASHINGTOn, D.C.(Press Release) – On Thursday, U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and House Republicans passed the Secure the Border Act on a 219-213 vote to tackle the ongoing crisis at the southern border.
“The situation at the southern border is a crisis, and the end of Title 42 will unfortunately demonstrate how ineffective and unsafe the Biden Administration’s open-border policies are,” said Johnson. “More than a thousand miles separate South Dakota from America’s southern border, yet we’re still seeing the impacts of the drug and crime in our local communities. We need solutions. The Secure the Border Act is a well-rounded plan to end the chaos at the border.”
The Secure the Border Act will:
- Restart construction of the border wall using funds appropriated by Congress that President Biden had refused to spend
- Hire more Border Patrol Agents
- End catch and release policies
- Re-implement Remain in Mexico provisions
- Improve technology used along the border and by Border Patrol Agents
Background:
- Title 42 ended today, a policy that has allowed border patrol to turn migrants away due to public health concerns. There has been an increase in encounters at the border since 2021, creating a crisis that only becomes worse with the end of Title 42.
- Migrants are coming from more than 140 countries including Mexico, Yemen, Russia, Haiti, and Venezuela to cross our southern border illegally.
- There have been over 5 million illegal crossings of our southern border since January 2021.
- On May 9, just two days ago, Border Patrol apprehended more than 10,300 migrants who crossed illegally. This is the highest single-day total ever recorded.
- Throughout Fiscal year 2023, Customs and Border Patrol seized over 14,000 pounds of fentanyl coming across the Southwest border. In March 2023 alone, fentanyl seizures were 25% higher than February 2023.