A few weeks ago, while returning from a short trip to Brownsville, Texas, I was going through airport security when I noticed a long line of individuals all holding red bags and paperwork. They did not show identification to the TSA but were instead waived through with plane tickets to various destinations within the United States. As I sat next to one of these individuals, I noticed the headline of the paperwork, which read “Order of Release on Own Recognizance.” As a representative of California, a border state, I have come to realize that under President Joe Biden, every state has become a border state. Every town is now a border town.

I have no doubt that the majority of the people in this line, and the more than two million others who have been apprehended trying to cross our border illegally, are good people, simply looking for a better life in America. In fact, I think it speaks volumes that people from around the world still risk dangerous journeys in order to come here, despite what many on the Left would have you think of our country. There is simply no other place in the world that provides more freedom and opportunity to improve one’s circumstances than the U.S. We should wear it as a badge of honor that our country is a land of immigrants and that we welcome more people to our shores legally than any other country in the world.