OPINION:
The dissolution of the U.S. border engineered by the Biden administration and its congressional allies is both unprecedented and undeniable. In 15 months, over 2.5 million illegal immigrants have been encountered, bused or released into America’s towns and cities. Hundreds of thousands of potential “getaways” with unknown criminal histories and international ties roam our streets. Massive illegal immigration has added to inflationary pressure, exacerbated strain on domestic supply chains and inflicted economic hardship on America’s working families. Hispanic and African American support for Democrats has crumbled as the Biden administration and D.C. Democrats double and triple down on deeply unpopular border policies that punish America’s working class.
Embracing the “progressive prosecutor” ideology, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has transformed a department charged with border security and enforcing immigration laws into one that disregards both. In an April 15, 2022, district court filing in the northern district of Texas, DHS disclosed that 80,116 of the 221,000 foreign nationals apprehended at the United States-Mexico border in March were released into American communities. According to the Customs and Border Patrol, border encounters in April rose to 234,000. Lifting Title 42 is expected to bring the number of illegal entries to half a million — per month. The administration’s only strategy to combat the surge is to request more taxpayer funds to expedite the processing and release of greater numbers of unlawful arrivals.
For more than a decade, Congressional Republican leaders have yielded substantive immigration policy to special interests at the expense of the special interest that should matter most — the American people. It’s time for GOP leaders to stop talking and start acting.
Article I, section 9, clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution provides that “no money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law.” The Supreme Court has broadly upheld this plenary “power of the purse.” Leaders Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy must attach riders to all “must move” appropriations bills requiring Floor votes on the following: maintaining Title 42, restoring the Migrant Protection Protocols, addressing abuse of the asylum process, closing the unaccompanied loophole from noncontiguous countries, and replacing “catch and release” with “detain and remove.”
The Biden administration recently requested billions of dollars in necessary and well-deserved military and economic support for the brave people of Ukraine. In an April 28, 2022, NPR interview, the U.N. human rights mission chief in Ukraine documented over 5,900 civilian casualties, including over 2,780 killed and 3,000 injured. In this country, a drug war fueled by fentanyl trafficked through the southern border claimed over 100,000 American lives last year alone.
U.S. border security amendments to these relief measures will require senators and U.S. representatives of both parties to take a clear stand: Do you value America’s territorial integrity as much as that of a foreign nation? Do you value the lives of your fellow Americans as much as Ukraine’s patriotic defenders? Make senators and representatives cast their votes, and let voters cast theirs in November.
Article II, section 2, clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution states, “[The President] shall … nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint … Judges of the Supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States.” In years past, senators have exercised “advice and consent” to check executive overreach or its failure to enforce the law. Mr. McConnell and Sens. John Thune, Tom Cotton, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham, as well as others, must finally match rhetoric with a red line: “We will deny consideration of all judicial nominations unless and until the Biden administration restores objective, quantifiable, and verifiable operational control of the United States border.”
America is a compassionate nation of immigrants, but no less sovereign than any other. Americans of all backgrounds support legal immigration and the rule of law, not open-border policies that demean both. In November, the Democrat-led effort to erase America’s borders will be on the ballot. Republican congressional leaders must exercise the power of the purse and advice and consent to stabilize the chaos. If they don’t, they’ll be complicit in perpetuating it.
• Robert Neira Tracci has served as majority counsel and chief legislative counsel and parliamentarian to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee (Hyde, Sensenbrenner), deputy assistant attorney general, and as the elected commonwealth’s attorney for Albemarle County, Virginia.
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