Since President Biden took office, there have been greater than 6.4 million illegal crossings over our southern border. This includes 169 encounters with individuals whose names appear on the terror watch list, not to mention the record levels of illicit narcotics, such as fentanyl and opioids, crossing the border every day.
Instead of working to secure our border and reinstate the effective policies, such as the “Remain in Mexico” policy, the Administration is housing migrants in our schools and now in our national parks.
Meanwhile, there are ICE detention facilities that are sitting empty, like the ICE Processing facility in Adelanto, California, in Rep. Obernolte’s district. This facility, which is already fully funded, has sat empty since April 2020. We should utilize these already prepared and paid for ICE facilities rather than setting up tent cities in our national parks!
On September 15, 2023, the Biden Administration signed a lease with New York City to house at least 2,000 migrants at Floyd Bennet Field in the Gateway National Recreation Area. In less than two months, the park reached capacity and turned from a space used to host community events, such as bike races and youth day camps, to a tent city encampment for illegal aliens.
The Biden Administration’s takeover of Floyd Bennet Field and the threat of taking over our national parks not only raises serious infrastructure and sanitation concerns, but it also endangers community safety, further risks the well-being of the illegal aliens and migrant community while simultaneously degrading park resources.
Last week, I was proud to take action and support H.R. 5283, the “Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure our Border Act of 2023.” This vital legislation prohibits American taxpayer funding from housing illegal immigrants on federal lands owned by the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Earlier this year, the House passed my resolution to shield our schools from Biden’s border crisis. The resolution, H.Res. 461, condemns the use of elementary and secondary school facilities to provide shelter for aliens admitted to the U.S.
And despite the House passing H.R. 2, historic border and immigration policy, there is still more work that needs to be done to reverse Biden’s historic border crisis and protect our communities, parks, and facilities. I will continue to urge my colleagues to stop this lawlessness at our borders and protect our citizens and national parks from becoming tent cities for illegal aliens.
We cannot ignore the aggressive overreach of the Biden Administration and the mounting border crisis.
