There is no question that the United States is facing the most unprecedented immigration crisis in our nation’s history. Since the start of the Biden-Harris administration, over 9.9 million of illegal aliens have been encountered at our borders nationwide, and over 8.1 million have been encountered at the southern border alone.

While Vice President Border Czar Kamala Harris has only visited the southern border once since taking office in 2021, I joined my Republican colleagues in traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border twice since becoming a Member of Congress. I have seen this national security crisis firsthand and know more must be done if we want to keep Americans safe.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have pushed an open border agenda that has turned every state into a border state. That’s why I’ve been working diligently in Congress to support and pass legislation that will secure our borders and get fentanyl off our streets:

• Voted to pass the Secure the Border Act of 2023, which will increase border patrol agent pay, end catch and release, strengthen and streamline the asylum process, and restart construction of the border wall
• Signed on as a cosponsor of the Protecting our Communities from Sexual Predators Act to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the detention, inadmissibility, and removal of illegal aliens who commit sexual assault
• Joined my colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg opposing the Biden administration’s allowance and encouragement of the use of airports throughout the nation as temporary shelters for illegal immigrants
• Voted to pass the bipartisan Laken Riley Act, which requires ICE to issue detainers and take custody of illegal aliens who commit theft-related crimes and allows state Attorneys General to sue the Secretary of Homeland Security for injunctive relief if immigration actions such as parole, violation of detention requirements, or other policy failures harm that state or its citizens
• Voted to pass the bipartisan HALT Fentanyl Act to supply law enforcement with the tools needed to keep illicit fentanyl off our streets, make the class-wide scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances permanent, and support research efforts to understand the impact of fentanyl-related substances

Border security is national security, and without a strong border, we put our entire nation at risk.