Delivering Real Border Security

The border crisis came to a boiling point last year, with record high encounters at the southwest border. In May of this year, CBP reported 8,725 encounters, or about two days’ worth of the 117,905 illegal immigrants let in during the month of May just one year ago. This drastic shift reflects the Trump administration’s commitment to secure the border and end the crisis that has allowed millions of illegal immigrants into the country unchecked.

House and Senate Republicans, alongside the administration, made clear at the start of the year we would deliver real, workable border security legislation that puts an end to the crisis. H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law this month does just that with the largest investment into border security in U.S. history. 

This legislation allocates $46 billion to finish construction of over 700 miles of the southern border wall. On day one of his presidency, President Biden issued an executive order halting the construction of the wall, leaving miles of construction materials laying idle in the desert, collecting dust. I heard firsthand from Border Patrol about how the wall helps mitigate illegal crossings and eases the burden on officers with already limited resources. 

H.R. 1 also includes funding for 5,000 new CBP officers and 3,000 new Border Patrol agents to serve on the front lines of the crisis at the border and keep Americans safe. These agents will also be equipped with new, cutting-edge technology to detect and confiscate fentanyl being smuggled through ports of entry, a priority I have long held as a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. 

These investments, coupled with the administration’s crackdown on illegal crossings, have put us on track to a truly secure border and will open doors to conversations on positive immigration reform. I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and the administration to ensure we maintain sovereignty at our borders and show that legal immigration is the way to the American Dream.