Terrorist threats expose the urgent need for border security

The United States’s open border with Mexico has threatened the safety of the public for years. With a staggering
7.5 million
illegal crossings, 1.6 million
gotaways
, and
23 tons
of deadly drugs seized since January 2021, that threat has become even more apparent. No wonder people overwhelmingly
disapprove
of President Joe Biden’s handling of the border crisis.

The need to secure our border has become especially urgent as Hamas terrorists continue their unprecedented attack on Israel. New
reports
are raising serious concerns about illegal immigrants from “special interest countries” that possibly pose a national security threat. Border officials have already detained more than
150
terrorist suspects at the border this year alone. How many more got away?

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Border Patrol agents certainly know that the need to strengthen our border security is dire. Earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security posted an
announcement
declaring the “acute and immediate need” to construct a border wall in Starr County, Texas, citing “high illegal entry.” That sector of the border has confronted more than 245,000 migrant encounters this fiscal year.

Of course, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas immediately pulled an about-face,
declaring
that his agency’s comments were “taken out of context” and “a border wall is not the answer.” This comes as no surprise: The Biden administration has shown us time and time again that it cares more about making the far Left happy than serving the public.

But there are many within Mayorkas’s department who are sounding the alarm about the real impact of the Biden administration’s failure to address the border crisis. Border Patrol agents, in particular, have been left demoralized and “
overwhelmed
” by the surge of crossings — to the benefit of drug cartels and human smuggling operations, which are “
exploiting
” the chaos to traffic narcotics such as deadly fentanyl and transport criminals through vulnerable sectors of the border. This is
enriching
these criminals to the tune of billions of dollars.

The border crisis is also forcing agents to undergo dangerous mountain rescues for lost or distressed immigrants, putting law enforcement lives in danger.

For 30 straight months, monthly encounters have been higher than even the
highest
month seen under the previous administration. Illicit drugs are flowing into the country at an alarming rate, with only
5% to 10
% being intercepted as border officials struggle to contain the smuggling. Communities across the nation are feeling the impact as fentanyl has become the
No. 1
killer of adults.

Americans are dying, and known terrorists are entering the U.S. Why does the Biden administration continue to flip-flop on the seriousness of this crisis?

Let’s not forget that Biden spent his first two years in office spouting the lie that there was “
not a crisis
” at the border. Mayorkas, too, has claimed the term “crisis” was “
not applicable
.”

While the messaging has changed, the denial hasn’t. On Aug. 30, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took to the podium and
declared
, “We are stopping the flow at the border.” Now, she’s
claiming
that Biden is “doing everything that he can to deal with the border … without the help of Republicans.”

This is laughable but typical of this failed presidency.

The fact is that in Biden’s first 100 days, he took more than
94 executive actions
on immigration, including
halting
the construction of the border wall and
ending
the successful “Remain in Mexico” policy. His Democratic allies in Congress have
aided
sanctuary cities and
sent
stimulus checks to illegal immigrants,
opposed
legislation to fund Title 42, and
repeatedly
voted against funding the border wall. They’ve even voted against
hiring
more border agents, against
deporting
felons, and against
preventing
illegal immigrants convicted of crimes from becoming permanent residents.

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Compare that to Republicans. House Republicans passed the
strongest border security bill
in history this year. Republican governors from
across the country
have
deployed
National Guard troops to support local law enforcement, and they’re
rallying together
to demand information on who is crossing the border and how the Biden administration is processing illegal immigrants into the U.S.

Biden could learn from Republicans about what it means to take meaningful action to protect people from the consequences of an open border. Newsflash to Biden: Walls work. Denial doesn’t.

Ronna McDaniel is the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.