President Biden has overseen the worst border crisis in recent memory. Since the beginning of his administration, more than 5.5 million illegal immigrants have crossed our border, and in July alone, illegal border crossings increased by 30%. This has not happened by accident. The Biden Administration’s policies have intentionally exacerbated this crisis by failing to enforce our laws, hold drug traffickers accountable for their crimes, and protect our families from the fentanyl crisis.
Simply put, if President Biden refuses to secure our border, stop the flow of fentanyl into our rural communities, and build the border wall – I will take matters into my own hands.
That’s why I recently introduced the Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act, which is as straightforward as it sounds. My legislation would equally dedicate assets and money confiscated from drug traffickers by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to two separate funds to build the border wall and fight the fentanyl crisis impacting rural communities. The two funds – which would be housed at the U.S. Department of the Treasury – are the “Southern Border Wall Fulfillment Fund” and the “Combating The Fentanyl Epidemic Fund.”
As a matter of policy, this bill would direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to deploy half of the confiscated funds to support the construction of the border wall and simultaneously activate the other half of the funds to establish a grant program for fentanyl recovery services. Eligible organizations that can receive funds to fight the fentanyl crisis include state and local law enforcement agencies, state and local health and human services agencies, rehabilitation facilities, and drug-use prevention advocacy groups. In crafting this legislation, I specifically worked to ensure that these finances would benefit clinics and other recovery programs for folks in rural America, where the need is particularly dire.
The bottom line is – we cannot wait any longer to address our border and fentanyl crisis. Criminal drug traffickers have smuggled enough fentanyl into our country to kill every man, woman, and child in the United States, and tragically, too many families know the pain of losing a loved one to this deadly crisis. As a father of four, I cannot fathom the pain and heartbreak of an empty seat at the dinner table. We must do better.
While President Biden has failed to uphold his oath of office and secure our border, I remain committed to delivering real solutions to the border crisis by beating the drug traffickers at their own game and using their illegal financial gains to finish the border wall and support our families. In Congress, I will continue to work with my colleagues to protect our children, restore order at our border, and save precious lives.
We are government together, and your thoughts and opinions matter to me. Please contact my office at Feenstra.House.Gov or by phone at 202-225-4426 if I can ever be of assistance. I am proud to represent our families, farmers, main street businesses, and rural communities in Congress.
