Turner, Wenstrup, Crawford: "The Border is Not Secure"

Press Release

In response to Biden Administration officials' claims that the U.S. southern border is secure, Congressman Mike Turner (OH-10), the Lead Republican on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), along with fellow HPSCI members Congressmen Brad Wenstrup (OH-02) and Rick Crawford (AR-01) today completed a two-day visit to the U.S.-Mexico border to assess the security situation.

"Contrary to the Biden Administration's wishes and dreams, it is clear that the U.S. southern border is not secure. Dedicated federal and state law enforcement officials are working day and night to counter national threats that could come across our border and the White House has the responsibility to support them in their mission," said Turner. "Right now, transnational criminal organizations are taking advantage of this Administration's open border policies and profiting through organized crime. This is a national security risk to our cities, and we have a responsibility to stop it."

Monday, July 18th at the Aspen Security Forum, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claimed "Look, the border is secure. We are working to make the border more secure. That has been a historic challenge." This determination was made despite more than 200,000 migrant encounters a month for the last four months, a record-setting number at the southern border.

After briefings with federal and state law enforcement officials in West Texas and New Mexico, the three HPSCI members refuted DHS Secretary Mayorkas' assertion and called for greater federal resources and stricter policies to truly secure the border.

"As a result of Biden's open border policies, over 3.1 million migrants have illegally entered our country since he took office. An estimated 800,000 have evaded capture and disappeared into our country. Biden's immigration policies aren't compassionate, they're cruel," said Wenstrup. "It was very clear during our tour in El Paso, Texas, with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and our briefings with the FBI and the DEA how overwhelmed our border agents are. This trip was important to my colleagues and I from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to gain on-the-ground knowledge and insight on the threats facing our country so we can be prepared to conduct proper oversight, pass effective legislation, and hold President Biden accountable when Republicans take back the majority."

"Border agents today confirmed that President Biden's open border policies are a disaster. He has put our national security at risk by refusing to enforce our laws, and Americans are less safe as a result. Violent criminals, gang members, sex traffickers, and others who wish to do us harm are among the roughly two million who have sought illegal entry into our nation in the last year. No wonder Biden refuses to come to the border," said Crawford.

Turner, Wenstrup and Crawford received briefings from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Texas Department of Public Safety during their fact-finding trip. Topics covered included illicit drug smuggling, money laundering operations, human smuggling, gang activity, illegal weapons transport, "gotaways", technological obstacles, and the lack of adequate federal resources and policies to secure the border.

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