Members of the Republican Study Committee’s Steering Committee voted in favor of new border security policies which will be included in a future House border package. The policies will include putting an end to catch-and-release and immediately expelling migrants who illegally cross into the country.
The RSC Steering Committee, which is made up of 18 GOP leaders, said that every day when the body has not been secured by the Biden administration means that the “national security and humanitarian calamity” in the southern border is allowed to get worse. As they noted, ever since Biden was sworn into office, there have been more than 4 million apprehensions. There has also been an increase in drug-related deaths, with more than 100,000 deaths in 2021. RSC Chairman Rep. Kevin Hern in his statement noted that this is a record number.
With the new proposed policies, the Republicans are hoping to restore operational control over the border, reform the migration and asylum system, secure border infrastructure, and fight against cartels. U.S. Border Patrol agents recently revealed to lawmakers that the agency does not currently have operational control over the border.
U.S. Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz, during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in McAllen, Texas, replied to a question from Chairman Mark Green about Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claiming that the DHS has operational control over the U.S. border. However, Ortiz claimed that the agency did not have operational control over the entire border.
Hern in his statement also condemned the Biden administration for the crisis along the southern border.
