With just a flick of a pen, President Biden did away with the Trump-era border security policies as soon as he took office. For nearly two years, millions of immigrants have flooded the borders while the Biden administration has turned a blind eye. Republicans and Democrats alike have called on Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden’s appointed “Border Czar,” to deal with this crisis, yet the problem still isn’t solved leaving the American people to clean up the mess.
A recent study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) brings to light the cost that will be inflicted on taxpayers because of Biden’s border crisis. Taking into account 1.3 million immigrants who were released into the United States by U.S. officials as well as one million who have illegally crossed borders since last year, FAIR estimates the annual cost to be $20.4 billion each year that Biden is in office. Each individual immigrant costs $9,232 to support. FAIR President Dan Stein stated:
Even in an age in which trillion dollar spending packages are considered modest, the additional $20.4 billion the Biden Border Crisis has heaped onto the backs of American taxpayers is still staggering. $20.4 billion could address some very important needs of the American public, instead of covering the costs of the surge of illegal migration triggered by this Administration’s policies.
Meanwhile, Vice President Harris made an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press where she was asked if our border is currently secure. She quickly pointed the finger at Congress saying the problem is due to their failure to pass a bill to fix the system and give a pathway to citizenship to illegal immigrants. When journalist Chuck Todd highlighted the fact that two million immigrants will be crossing the border for the first time in our history, she once again deflected the blame, but this time to former President Trump. Even Todd was skeptical of her responses. You know things are bad when even the leftist media doesn’t believe the administration’s talking points.
Harris isn’t the only one feeling cornered from her inaction on immigration. Washington, D.C.’s Mayor Muriel Bowser is also backed into a tight spot due to her hypocracy. After Bowser repeatedly declaring D.C. a sanctuary city, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent busses of immigrants to her front yard. She complained that mayors are “not responsible for a broken immigration system” before releasing millions of dollars to aid the immigrants and futilely calling on the National Guard to be employed to assist. The leftist Washington Post wasn’t satisfied with her response though. An editorial criticized her slow reaction and previous statements by saying:
That’s not really right. In fact, state and local officials nationwide must accommodate a flow of migrants — in schools, shelters, streets — impelled to seek refuge in the United States by terrible conditions in their countries and the relative security and availability of jobs in this one.
Democrats seem to have a different outlook when the crisis comes to their own turf!
Members of Congress are crafting ideas for immigration policies as we speak, but it will not be what Democrats want. After Eagle Forum joined a coalition letter asking for responsible border security policies, Republican lawmakers took notice. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will roll out the GOP’s “Commitment to America” next week that will spell out their priorities going forward. Specific to immigration, McCarthy’s pillar to ‘Create a Safe Nation’ tackles illegal immigration by addressing the catch-and-release program, the remain in Mexico policy, border wall funding, and increasing the number of border officials. While the policies in his document are broad, they provide a good baseline that will hopefully encourage like-minded representatives to enact legislation to protect our nation.
This year’s Eagle Council, in St. Louis, Missouri, will feature former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli who will speak about the chaos that has unfolded due to lax border security and what the United States needs to do to be protected. To hear him and other expert speakers on September 23-24, visit our website and register here.
Eagle Forum applauds conservatives who are finding sensible solutions to the border crisis. We will continue to support the policies outlined in the coalition letter sent to Congress and keep you updated on upcoming immigration legislation.