Message from Congressman Sam Graves

Dear Friend,

There’s STILL a Crisis at the Border

No, it hasn’t gotten better. No, this Administration doesn’t have it “under control.”

I know I sound like a broken record, but as unbelievable as it sounds, this “seasonal influx” has shown no signs of slowing down. Usually, illegal immigration slows down in the hot summer months as the long journey across Mexico becomes increasingly difficult. Not this year. The months-long crisis at our southern border is still getting worse.

At the same time, we keep learning more and more about what’s really going on down there. The city of McAllen, Texas has reported that some 7,000 COVID-19 positive immigrants have been released into their town since mid-February—with 1,500 being released in just the last week.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, one small snapshot of what’s happening in one border town. It’s indicative of a much larger problem though. With the out-of-control crisis raging at the border, these illegal immigrants are being packed into overcrowded facilities with little-to-no social distancing.

In effect, this border crisis has morphed into a massive COVID-19 super spreader. While the Administration is busy issuing mandate after mandate on American citizens, it seems the only people exempted are those breaking the law and coming to this country illegally. It’s madness.

I’ve said it a million times now, but the solution to this crisis isn’t difficult. It’s staring us right in the face. When illegal immigration surged in 2019, President Trump took decisive action to enforce our laws, build the wall, and negotiate the Remain in Mexico policy which kept immigrants in Mexico until they were approved to enter the United States and kept illegal immigrants out. Unfortunately, this Administration has done everything they can to reverse all that progress, in the middle of a global pandemic no less.

They’ve ended the successful Remain in Mexico policy, they’ve reinstituted catch-and-release on a massive scale, and they’re paying billions to contractors to NOT finish construction of the border wall. They’ve chosen to play politics instead of rising above the political noise to solve this crisis.

It isn’t that hard, and it shouldn’t be a political issue. This crisis benefits virtually nobody, especially not the illegal immigrants being trafficked, exposed to the harsh elements of the journey here, and crammed into overcrowded facilities all while traveling with others that have COVID-19. In fact, the only beneficiaries of this Administration’s open border policies seem to be the Mexican drug cartels that are taking advantage of the crisis to flood our country with record amounts of deadly drugs like Fentanyl.

Enough is enough. It’s time to finish the wall. It’s time to secure our border. It’s long past time we ended this crisis.

Sincerely,


Sam Graves