T he United States of America established the Border Patrol 100 years ago to secure the borders of the United States. What started as a small group of 450 agents quickly expanded and grew into what we know today as the U.S. Border Patrol. The mission of the Border Patrol is to protect the American people, safeguard our borders, and enhance the economic prosperity of our nation.
Today, the border looks very different than it did 100 years ago. We have a border in crisis thanks to the failed policies of the Biden administration, which has led to a record number of individuals entering the United States illegally and without a valid claim of asylum. This crisis may have been years in the making, but it has exploded under President Biden.
A question that Americans should be asking is, How did we get to this point in our nation’s history where we have an invasion at our southern border? How did we arrive at a point where cartels and foreign terrorist organizations take advantage of President Biden’s weak border policy to smuggle drugs and illegal immigrants into our country?
Congress first addressed border policy in 1917 when it passed the Immigration Act, the first comprehensive attempt at controlling the flow of immigration. For a short time, the border was out of focus in the public eye; but by 1919, the border was once again a topic of conversation. With the ratification of the 18th Amendment, which prohibited the sale of alcohol, the border opened in a way that it hadn’t before. The prohibition of alcohol in the United States gave operators in Mexico the opportunity to smuggle across the border.
Upon the ratification of the 18th Amendment, breweries and alcohol sales were shut down, and some of them moved to Mexico. There, they could operate freely and smuggle alcohol across the border to the United States. This started the trend in trafficking illegal substances, first alcohol and now narcotics, from Mexico into the United States through the southern border.
While there were certainly other factors at play, the 18th Amendment brought about a major increase in illegal activities across the U.S.–Mexico border. By 1924, the issue had become big enough to put in place an official Border Patrol to enforce the law and keep the border secure from bad actors.
Many decades later, in the 1970s, President Ford set up the Domestic Council Committee on Illegal Aliens. This committee suggested penalties for smugglers and reported that our immigration system was in disarray. The committee recommended a renewed focus on law enforcement and securing the border.
In 1990, there was once again a move to secure the border, and Operation Hold the Line launched. With the turn of the century and the rise of terrorism, it became even more important to secure the border. In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, President Bush established the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), endowed with the singular mission to protect the American people. Along with emergency management, transportation security, and counterterrorism operations, all responsibilities relevant to immigration and border security fall within DHS’s jurisdiction.
In the years that followed, with little changes to immigration law, the flow of illegal immigration has been driven by the enforcement — or lack thereof — of each administration. We saw under President Trump an aggressive enforcement policy that led to an overall decrease in the number of immigrant encounters. Conversely, the lack of enforcement we see today under the Biden administration has led to millions of illegal crossings at the southern border. The Biden administration has opened the border by its refusal to enforce the immigration policies and practices that previously deterred illegal crossings.
Over the years, the border has become a true emergency. Now is the time to secure the border. We must end this humanitarian, drug, and national-security crisis, but ending the crisis must start with leadership. The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives has led by passing border-security legislation in H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023. This legislation passed the House more than a year ago and would be a crucial step in securing the border. Sadly, it remains unacted upon because Senate Majority Leader Schumer refuses to bring it to the Senate floor for a vote.
It is no longer a question of how to secure the border but when we will act to end the chaos.
Research and history have shown that new technologies, increased pay and support of our Border Patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection officers, as well as physical border walls will lead to the ultimate securing of the U.S.–Mexico border. We can no longer delay in addressing this issue. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass — and the Biden administration to sign into law — H.R. 2 to secure our southern border.