The truth about the border

Over the last two years, we have watched President Joe Biden and his administration make a mockery out of our nation's border security. Because of his refusal to enforce the law or keep in place strong policies adopted under the Trump administration, record numbers of illegal immigrants have crossed the border. There have been over a million gotaways, or illegal immigrants who crossed the border and evaded authorities. That's more than the entire population of Delaware, Biden's home state. In October, there were 230,678 illegal immigrant encounters at our southern border, a 334% increase from the average number of October encounters under President Donald Trump. And we've had 20 straight months of over 150,000 illegal border crossings. In other words, it's clear as day that the border is in complete chaos.

What's maddening is that the Biden administration and Washington Democrats aren't just ignoring the crisis on the border -- they've been lying through their teeth to try and fool Americans into believing there isn't a crisis at all.

Last month, Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) traveled to the border and sent a shot across the Biden administration's bow when he gave an ultimatum to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose agency oversees Customs and Border Patrol: resign immediately or be prepared for House Republicans' aggressive oversight into this administration's disastrous handling of the border crisis. That's because when Republicans regain control of the House on January 3rd, we'll finally have the tools we need to get Americans the answers they've been demanding about how -- in a matter of only two years -- our border went from being the most secure it's ever been to the absolute disaster it is today.

The same day McCarthy called on the head of DHS to resign, he also invited Biden to visit the border. In response to a reporter's question about whether Biden will accept McCarthy's invitation, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre laughed and then claimed the president had already visited it. That's a lie. Biden, in his decadeslong political career, has NEVER visited the southern border. Unfortunately, this administration has an awful habit of misleading the American people.

Just last month, DHS Secretary Mayorkas lied under oath -- again -- when he told Congress that the border is secure. This is the same Mayorkas who pushed the Biden administration's false narrative that Border Patrol agents on horseback were photographed "whipping" Haitian immigrants down at the border. Hours after Mayorkas was told that the agent's "whips" were actually reins to control their horses and that no one was whipped, he said, "[o]ur nation saw horrifying images that do not reflect who we are. We know that those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation's ongoing battle against systemic racism." Let's get this straight: he knowingly lied to the public, intentionally tried to turn Americans against each other, and dishonorably threw our brave border patrol agents under the bus. You'd think these actions alone would have led Biden to fire Mayorkas on the spot.

Washington Democrats have shown a complete lack of respect for our law enforcement officers down at the border. Instead of ensuring they have the resources, equipment, and policies they need to get the crisis under control, Washington Democrats have only made these brave men and women's jobs much more difficult.

From the day he was sworn in, Biden has recklessly pushed to get rid of Title 42 -- the Trump-era policy that Border Patrol agents have made clear is the most effective tool to stemming illegal immigration. Border Patrol has used Title 42 to expel about 40% of illegal immigrants, or more than 2 million since Biden took office. And now, Biden has accomplished his long-sought goal of eliminating this policy: a federal judge recently sided with the administration and ruled that the policy will end on December 21st. This is a recipe for disaster. U.S. officials said that when Title 42 ends, there could be a massive influx of as many as 18,000 illegal immigrants a day. To put that into perspective, illegal immigrants were stopped an average of 7,800 times a day in May, the highest of Biden's presidency.

The Democrat-led Congress lets the Biden administration get away with lying to Americans about the chaos on the border. Well, those days are over the moment Republicans regain the gavels of leadership in the House. If Mayorkas decides to remain at his post, we'll force him to turn over every letter, email, and document we need to expose the many lies, failed leadership, and disastrous policies of this administration. But that's not all. We'll also immediately get to work to build the border wall, increase resources for law enforcement, and put effective border policies in place. I'm eager to hit the ground running to secure the border and get our nation back on track.

Jason Smith (R-MO) represents the eighth congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives.