House conservatives went all-in with promises to back border wall funding as they pressed for President Donald Trump to secure the border on the day the President is visiting the Yuma U.S. Customs and Border Protection station and holding a campaign-style rally in Phoenix.
Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows stated:
The President’s visit to Yuma, Arizona will be a critical step in highlighting the needs of our border patrol operations and evaluating the challenges they face in keeping our country safe. I applaud President Trump for his leadership on this issue and for his relentless commitment to keeping a promise that was central to his campaign. Congress would do well to join the President and follow through on our own promises by including funding for a border wall in upcoming spending bills–anything less will show that we are not serious about keeping our word to the American people.
Rep. Dave Brat said in support of securing the U.S. southern border:
The American people placed their trust in the President and Republicans in Congress last November with the expectation that we would finally take action to secure the border. Our country is the melting pot of the world and I support legal immigration, but legal immigrants and American workers should not have to compete with illegal aliens for jobs. Our country was founded upon the rule of law and it is important that we hold to those principles. It is time for Congress to step up and keep the promises we made to the American people by joining with the President to fully fund construction of a border wall and ensure the U.S. Border Patrol has the resources they need to secure our border.
Rep. Louie Gohmert likewise urged the U.S. to work with Mexico to secure the border between the two countries:
The best thing we can do for BOTH the United States and Mexico is to secure our border. Thankfully, we have a President who understands and is committed to that. A nation founded on laws that apply to everyone, where neither rich nor poor or supposed to be above the law, must have the law enforced to maintain its integrity, fairness, justice and opportunity. If we secure and enforce our border properly, Mexico’s drug cartels are reduced dramatically, which reduces corruption and lawlessness in Mexico, and, thereby, helps Mexico finally achieve its place as one of the top economies and vibrant countries in the world.
A good neighbor would help Mexico in this way, which also returns America back to being a nation where the law matters and where we can continue to allow more lawful entries into the United States than any other country in the world. Thankfully, we have a President who not only understands the importance of security and the rule of law, but is doing all he can to make such security, propriety, and opportunity a reality.
“Securing our borders is vital to maintaining the safety of our homeland,” added Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA). “I’m grateful that President Trump has brought this issue into the forefront and given it the attention it deserves. I remain firmly committed to supporting the President’s security initiatives on the southern border that will help improve our national security and ensure public safety.”
Rep. Jeff Duncan posted:
President Trump is visiting the southern border today for the first time since being elected President. When it comes to border security and immigration enforcement, President Trump has proven to be extremely effective and has shown just how much can be accomplished when we have a President who empowers those under him to enforce the laws already on the books, and follows through on those commitments (amazing, right?!?) Here are some facts to consider:
President Trump is touring facilities today in the Yuma sector, where illegal border crossings in have declined by 70 percent from 2006, when the Yuma Sector built more than 50 miles of border wall.
President Trump instituted tough immigration policies that have reduced illegal border crossings over the southwest border by 47 percent compared to the same period last year.
Illegal aliens removed due to ICE arrests have increased by over 32 percent, to 48,580 illegal aliens, compared to the same time last year.
71 percent of the more than 91,000 administrative arrests conducted by ICE since President Trump’s inauguration have involved convicted criminal aliens.
Of the illegal aliens arrested without criminal convictions, 74 percent were charged with a crime, were immigration fugitives, or were repeat violators.
So far in fiscal year 2017, ICE has removed over 2,700 criminal gang members, compared to 2,057 criminal gang members in all of fiscal year 2016.
During Project New Dawn, a nationwide, six-week operation, ICE officers and agents arrested 1,378 suspected gang members. 104 of those arrested were members or associates of MS-13.
Operation Matador in the New York City metropolitan area has led to nearly 140 arrests, the vast majority affiliated with MS-13.
One of President Trump’s first Executive Orders informed sanctuary cities that failure to fully abide by Federal immigration laws would jeopardize access to certain Federal grant money. As a result, Miami-Dade County reversed its years-long sanctuary policies.
The President ordered the hiring of 10,000 new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents.
54 additional immigration judges have been hired since President Trump took office to speed up the removal of illegal aliens from the United States, and new immigration judges are hired every month.
President Trump ordered the creation of the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office at DHS, ensuring victims of criminal acts by illegal aliens are no longer ignored by the Federal Government.
Rep. Jim Jordan urged border wall funding for the good of the country:
Today President Trump will visit the U.S./Mexico border and reaffirm his commitment to securing our border. Under President Trump, the number of people trying to enter the U.S. illegally has dropped significantly. But we need to do more. I agree with the president that secure borders are a vital part of our national security. For the good of our country, Congress should include border wall funding in government funding legislation this fall. It’s what we ran on – we need to fulfill that promise.
Rep. Andy Biggs, who is joining Trump at Tuesday’s rally, stated:
I am pleased to welcome President Trump back to Arizona. We are privileged to host him in the Grand Canyon State.
Since President Trump took office in January, confidence in the economy has rebounded. Immigration laws have been enforced, and the number of illegal aliens pouring across our southern border has slowed. Onerous job-killing regulations have been slashed, freeing up major sectors of the American economy to revitalize job growth. Neil Gorsuch, a Constitutional constructionist, has taken his seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Law and order will no longer be ignored. Our military has been empowered to keep our nation safe through strength. Life has been protected.
President Trump has been successful in many of his quests to make America great again, and some of his battles are only beginning. As the President visits Yuma and the border today, I encourage the country – and our leaders – to renew our resolve to secure the border and to build the promised wall. The House of Representatives has already passed legislation providing border wall funding, and I hope that my colleagues in the Senate will do the same in September. We have no excuses for an unsecured border. President Trump realizes that, and the American people realize that. It is time for Congress to come to that realization when we reconvene.
Rep. Morgan Griffith stated:
A weak border has consequences for the whole country. National security is jeopardized when we don’t know who is entering and leaving. The rule of law is diminished. Opportunities for legal immigrants who follow the rules are closed.
Dangerous and addicting substances routinely cross the border. The 2016 National Drug Threat Assessment found that Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations, which control smuggling corridors across the border, are the biggest criminal drug threat to the United States. Lax border security has fueled the opioid epidemic, the ready availability of meth, fentanyl, and the resurgence of cocaine. Parts of the country far from the border are in pain because the Federal Government didn’t do enough to control who or what entered our territory.
Fortunately, the Trump Administration has shown that it takes enforcement seriously. The proof is in the numbers. Apprehensions at the border from January 1 to July 31 of this year are almost half of what they were in the same period last year, a sign that many are choosing not to risk illegal border crossings.
We should build on this success to further guarantee the integrity of our borders. To that end, I supported the inclusion of funding for a border wall in the appropriations bill the House passed last month and urge that it be kept in any bill to fund the government.”
Rep. Paul Gosar posted that he believes Trump will make America safe again:
Securing our borders is absolutely vital to the well-being of our nation. President Trump’s visit to the AZ/Mexico border today is very encouraging. We need to make America safe again, and I genuinely believe POTUS wants to do just that.
Rep. Joe Barton called for securing the border:
I commend the President for taking the time to visit our southern border and to meet with crucial law enforcement officers and border security personnel. I support the President’s initiatives to help secure our borders and make our homeland safer.
Rep. Andy Harris, M.D. wrote:
In the first seven months of 2017, the United States Border Patrol saw a 46% decrease in the number of illegal border crossing attempts and apprehensions from the same seven-month window in 2016. I applaud the United States Border Patrol and Department of Homeland Security for their hard work in reducing the rate of illegal border crossings, and I am proud to support increased funding for securing our borders in the FY18 spending bill. Through increased border security and legislation like the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, the Trump Administration and Congress are making great strides to end illegal immigration, making American citizens safer and more prosperous.
Rep. Warren Davidson stated:
In July, the #House passed appropriations bills to increase funding for border security. Every day our communities deal with the realities of our nation’s failure to secure our borders – perhaps most lethally with the heroin epidemic. Today, the border has become a partisan issue. But in 2006, border security was bipartisan when Congress authorized a 700-mile secure fence. While no one solution will secure our border, the status quo has been no solution and no action. It is time for#DeedsNotWords on our border. Results so far this year have been impressive, with more on the way. The far left will focus on the wall (ignoring 2006), but the Administration and Congress are using a multifaceted approach to#MakeAmericaSecureAgain. Sad to see national security divide our nation, but failure is not an option.
Rep. Ted Yoho wrote:
Today, President Trump will meet with US Border Patrol agents in Yuma, Arizona. Thank you to the brave men and women who patrol our borders and stop the flow of individuals illegally trying to enter the United States. Border security is vital for our national security and I applaud the president for his continued support of policies that are aimed at securing our southern border. His commitment to enforcing the immigration laws currently on the books and encouraging legal immigration is the right thing to do for our country.
Trump visited the U.S. Customs and Border Protection station in Yuma Tuesday for a tour of border equipment. Though he was within just a few miles of the actual border, plans for the President to visit the border itself were canceled. White House officials revealed the cancelation on Monday night, citing “security concerns.”
From Yuma Trump is traveling on to Phoenix where he will hold a campaign-style rally. It was a year ago this month that Trump held a similar rally in the city where he laid down a 10-step immigration reform plan. Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto have continued to clash on Trump’s exclamation that Mexico will pay for a wall along the U.S. southern border. Meanwhile plans to have potential contractors start construction of border wall prototypes in San Diego, California, have been pushed back from summer to fall.
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