A Safer, Stronger America
By Sen. John Thune
Since taking office in January, President Trump has swiftly changed the status quo at the southern border. Border towns that were overwhelmed with illegal immigrants during the Biden era are now quiet as illegal crossings have dropped significantly. Border Patrol agents are no longer processing thousands of illegal immigrants per day, they are back on patrol and have greater bandwidth to prevent illegal crossings. And criminal illegal aliens who had taken up residence in our country are being removed.
The improved situation at the border and the progress on deporting criminal illegal immigrants make our country safer. But sustaining these efforts and keeping our country secure for the long-term will require more resources. That’s where Congress comes in. The Republican Congress has been working for months to advance a reconciliation bill that makes a generational investment in border security, alongside other gains like preventing a tax hike on working families, strengthening our military, and unleashing American energy.
This bill will provide the Trump administration with the resources it needs to continue its border security efforts for years to come. That includes funding to finish the border wall, facilitate deportations, and invest in the technology and personnel needed to prevent illegal aliens and illegal drugs from getting across the border. President Trump has brought a new direction to border security, and our bill will ensure that those new policies can go the distance.
But this bill is not the only effort in Congress to protect our country from dangers coming from the border. Congress has passed the HALT Fentanyl Act, which will ensure law enforcement has a critical tool to go after the people bringing fentanyl-related substances into our country and peddling them in our communities.
Sadly, no part of our country has been immune to the crisis of drug overdoses. With better border security policies in place, border agents have greater bandwidth for duties like drug interdiction efforts, and because of the HALT Fentanyl Act, law enforcement can be sure it will have a critical tool to arrest and prosecute criminals bringing this poison into our country.
President Biden left a mess at the southern border. President Trump and Republicans are working hard to clean it up. We’re working to make sure that law enforcement officials in our communities and at our borders have everything they need to do the job we ask them to do – to keep us safe.
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