Opinion: Seeing Positive Results on the Southern Border

As a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, my colleagues and I extensively fought the previous administration over their refusal to enforce laws addressing illegal immigration. Instead, their catch and release approach led to a record influx of migrants arriving at the border, a complete erosion of our nation’s border security, and an increase of fentanyl-related deaths in our communities. However, the tide is starting to turn, and I am encouraged by the progress to secure our border.

Last month, the U.S. Border Patrol apprehended just 8,347 illegal immigrants at the southern border, which is down 71 percent from January of this year, where they apprehended 29,101 illegal immigrants. Even more significant, last month’s apprehensions reflect a 94 percent decrease in apprehensions compared to February 2024, where apprehensions by Border Patrol reached 140,641 individuals. 

These numbers prove that if the executive branch enforces strong border protection policies, then we can begin to reverse the crisis we’ve seen in recent years. During my visit to the border last year, I heard firsthand from Border Patrol about how the lack of enforcement has hampered their ability to act. One officer stressed to me the importance of the border wall as we gazed over miles of unbuilt wall, laying in the desert as a result of the Biden administration’s direction to halt construction. Just this week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection awarded the first contract to restart construction of the border wall in the Rio Grande Valley. 

We also heard from Border Patrol about the threat posed by high-speed car chases involving cartel members, smugglers, and traffickers in border communities. Officers are often advised not to pursue these cases in part due to the danger posed by doing so, but also because these individuals have not faced federal consequences as illegal immigrants. Last month, my colleagues and I in the House passed the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act named in honor of a Border Patrol agent killed during a high-speed chase with an illegal immigrant. The legislation imposes strong federal penalties on illegal individuals who engage in these high-speed chases to evade Border Patrol. 

While we have made good progress, the work is far from over. As this administration continues their efforts to remove dangerous illegal immigrants that made their way across the border, and who engage in drug and human trafficking, Congress will be taking action to help get the crisis under control and make common sense reforms to our border policies. I look forward to having Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and the heads of the agencies involved in border security come to Capitol Hill and share their vision to protect our communities from dangerous illegal immigrants, keep deadly drugs off our streets, and regain sovereignty at our southern border.