Communities across the nation are left vulnerable to Biden’s open border policies regardless of their proximity to our Southern Border. Despite cries from Republicans in the halls of Congress and concerned citizens throughout America, the Biden Administration has put forth zero effort to contain the chaos. They’ve enabled it to get worse. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) remains one of the most critical lines of defense at our Southern Border. Yet, the administration is allowing its funding to expire this month.

As the agency that protects Americans from cross-border crime and illegal immigration, ICE cannot afford a funding cliff now more than ever. According to Axios, a $345 million shortfall in ICE’s budget will leave the already-overwhelmed agency in shambles by the end of October.

There are severe consequences of turning a blind eye to cross-border crime. Among them is allowing many of Mexico’s most lethal drug cartels to exploit the open border to smuggle humans across, making human smuggling a $20 billion business. The horrors these drug cartels commit, such as torture, rape, and murder, that had previously been resigned to their places of origin are now becoming prevalent on the U.S. side of the border. Those who participate in these practices have zero regard for human life.

Last year, 650 illegal immigrants died crossing the border, more than any other year, and current data from the United Nations shows we are on track to exceed those numbers this year. There is a clear human cost of these open border policies, and we should all be united in keeping these criminal organizations out of our country and out of clear reach from exploiting those seeking to come here.

The open border is an active threat to American communities in more ways than one. We cannot discuss the tragic outcomes of these policies without discussing the unrelenting fentanyl crisis. The Drug Enforcement Agency seized more than 20 million counterfeit pills last year, enough fentanyl came across the border to kill the population of the U.S. seven times over, and overdose deaths topped 100,000 for the first time in history.

In an attempt to offer a solution, Biden’s Department of Homeland Security recently announced a plan to expel Venezuelan migrants to Mexico. Not only is the number of Venezuelan migrants less than or comparable to migrants from other countries, but there is a daily cap on how many migrants Mexico will accept. Unsurprisingly, that cap is but a small percentage of those who are attempting to enter our country illegally.

I’ve joined my House Republican colleagues in introducing the DIRECT Funds for Border Security Act to redirect $80 billion worth of IRS funds from the Inflation Expansion Act to hire more border patrol agents at our Southern Border. Biden does not need to build an army of IRS agents when lives are at stake and ICE resources are running dry. His administration needs to reexamine its priorities and address the funding shortfall immediately.

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