WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Mike Braun is leading a letter with Senators Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike Lee, and Cynthia Lummis to call out President Biden for defunding border security and attempting to tear down the border wall.
In the Dear Colleague letter, the Senators pledge not to support any spending bills at the end of the year that do not have funding for the border wall and attempt to make our country less safe, writing:
“We write to express opposition to the partisan funding proposals released this week by Senate Appropriations Committee Democrats. Among many issues, the posted bills fail to provide America’s border agents with the proper security infrastructure necessary to defend America’s southern border from the continued crisis of unrestrained illegal migration. The failure to provide sufficient resources is a continuation of the Biden-Harris Administration’s inability and unwillingness to acknowledge the humanitarian and national security risks created by its open-border policies.”
The Senators continued:
“The continuation of border security funding, particularly continued funding for physical barrier construction, remains necessary during the continued immigration crisis. As such, and in the defense of our nation, we will not offer support for any fiscal year 2022 omnibus agreement that omits this funding or authorizes the administration to remove previously constructed border security measures.”
As record border-crossings continue and the humanitarian and national security crisis on the southern border spins out of control, the Democrats’ Fiscal Year 2022 budget cuts funding to U.S. Border Patrol’s budget by $500 million from FY2021 enacted levels, excludes funding for the border wall and gives the Biden administration authority to actively remove previously constructed parts of the border wall. This is outlined on page 25 of the Democrats’ budget report, which says: “The Committee recommends $14,537,933 for CBP, which is $79,656,000 below the budget request amount and $500,624,000 below the fiscal year 2021 enacted level.”
BACKGROUND:
- Since President Biden was sworn in, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) reports that more than 1.3 million migrants have been encountered at the southern border, an increase of 377 percent from a comparable time frame the year prior, a 33 percent increase over levels seen in 2019, and a 154 percent increase from 2018.
- The wall saves Border Patrol time and money. DHS reported that one segment of the border barrier in San Diego saves DHS approximately $28 million in salaries due to the reduced manpower requirements.
