U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney and 51 other House Republicans warned President Joe Biden of a potential “border war” that could result from illegal immigrants flooding the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
The senators expressed their concerns just weeks after Biden put a halt to construction of former President Donald Trump’s border wall.
“We write today to bring attention to the rising illegal migration crisis that is already beginning at our southern border, a mere few weeks into your administration,” the Republicans told the president. “Based on information from sources on the ground, this week Customs and Border Protection agents have seen the average daily flow soar to more than 3,500 migrants, up from 2,000 earlier last month.”
Cheney was joined by other House Republicans including Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw, Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
They added that around 300 undocumented minors are crossing the border daily, numbers not seen since around 2019.
Border Patrol agents have encountered more than 200,000 undocumented immigrants since October, according to the letter.
“In Arizona, law enforcement officers have seen increases in illegal foot traffic in areas that ‘went completely dead’ under the Trump administration,” the letter said. “Illegal migrants are not just coming from our southern neighbors either, for example, last Monday, Border Patrol agents arrested 11 Iranians after sneaking across the border in Arizona.”
The House Republicans added that by any standard, these are crisis-level numbers, which are being driven by Biden’s “open border” policies.
“Despite these rising numbers, on your first day as president, you signed multiple executive orders aimed at dismantling the security of our borders -rescinding policies from the Trump administration that were working as intended to halt the flow of illegal migration,” the letter said.
