Washington, D.C. – House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik lead fellow House Republicans in a roundtable dissent, which featured Sheriff Michael Chapman, Sheriff from Loudoun County, VA & Member of National Sheriff Association, Anne Basham, Founder of the Interparliamentary Taskforce on Human Trafficking & CEO of Ascend Consulting, and Brandon Judd, President of National Border Patrol Council, to highlight and discuss the impact the Biden Border Crisis is having across the country.
Watch the full roundtable here.
View highlights from the roundtable below.
On the Impact Of the Biden Border Crisis:
“Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for being here today. I want to thank members of the House Republican Conference as well as our special guests who I will introduce shortly. This is part of a series of events highlighting the impact of Biden’s Border Crisis on the American people. Earlier this week, we hosted a press conference with our colleagues from the Texas Delegation who highlighted the existential and national security threat that the invasion at our Southern Border that they’re facing every single day. Before we get into this conversation, I wanted to first turn it over to our Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, who has been a leader, a stalwart leader on the issue of securing the border. And then, I will be moderating this event and look forward to hearing from our guests and our other members. Speaker Mike Johnson.”
Questioning with Brandon Judd, President of National Border Patrol Council:
Stefanik: “As you know, I represent a border district but on the Northern Border. And we’ve not only seen the existential threat on the Southern Border and the invasion on the Southern Border, but the Swanton Sector which I represent on the Northern Border, we’ve seen an increase of over 500 percent in just the past year of illegals crossing the Northern Border. As President of the National Border Patrol Council, can you provide an overall, situational update on what you’re seeing on the border both on the Southern and Northern Border and how much this is a historic threat we’re facing right now?”
Judd: “Absolutely, Congresswoman, Chairwoman I apologize. I’m here as the voice of all of our Border Patrol agents. They have asked me to come here. They’ve asked me to express their concerns, and those concerns are not just about the Southwest Border. In fact, when you look at the Southwest Border and you look at the destabilization of that border, it actually has an impact across the entire United States. We don’t just patrol the Southwest Border. We patrol the Northern Border. We also patrol the Coastal Border. And we have seen a huge impact in the numbers that are crossing our borders. And what really worries me about the Northern Border and having patrolled there for eight years, three in Maine and five in Montana, what concerns me is it was widely known that if terrorists wanted to enter our country, they were going to enter our country from the Northern Border simply because of how easy it is to come into Canada. And you come into Canada, get that visitor visa, and then you work your way down to the Northern Border, and you cross into the United States from there. And so when you look at the way the cartels work, when you look at these transnational criminal organizations, they know exactly how to exploit our resources, and they do that starting on the Southwest Border. And then they work their way up to the Northern Border. And these numbers that you’re pointing out, it has a huge impact what happens on the Southwest Border because of the depletion of our resources up on the Northern Border. And when you don't have those resources, you can’t properly patrol the border. I appreciate Speaker Johnson pointing out that it’s 85 percent. It’s actually at least 85 percent. That number goes up depending upon the ebbs and flows of any given month, but it’s at least 85 percent. And then on top of that, you have to add on what ICE is also releasing, so when we transfer custody from the Border Patrol to ICE, they also release a percentage of those individuals. And again, looking at the impact that it has on the Northern Border, that is an area that the cartels are currently exploiting. We have no idea what the gotaways are up on the Northern Border. House Whip Emmer talking about the gotaways. We just have no idea because we don't have the resources to properly understand what's going on there simply because this Administration has destabilized our Southwest Border.”
On House Republicans’ Commitment To Secure The Border:
“For the American people that are watching today, there is a reason that the border crisis is the number one issue, and it is because it has been a catastrophe of Joe Biden’s making. You heard from members all across this country who talked about how every state is a border state, whether it’s New York, Colorado, Indiana, Pennsylvania, we heard from Texas, West Virginia, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, every state is facing this border crisis. It's a humanitarian crisis, a national security crisis with hundreds on the terrorist watch list. It is an economic crisis, a sovereignty crisis, and a constitutional crisis. House Republicans will continue to lead on securing the border and returning to the most secure border policies that we've ever seen under President Trump. We passed the Secure the Border Act. We know we need to return to the 'Remain in Mexico’ policy. We must end ‘Catch and Release’. We have to support our Border Patrol officers and our local law enforcement across this country, and we have to continue building the wall. We passed our secure the border bill. We will continue to stand to make sure that we're protecting this great nation. And we will hold Secretary Mayorkas and most importantly, President Joe Biden accountable. And the American people are going to hold them accountable as well. Thank you very much to our guests who are here today. Thank you, Anne, on behalf of so many victims of human trafficking that are facing this humanitarian scourge. Thank you, Brandon Judd, for your advocacy on behalf of your colleagues in the Border Patrol. I represent Border Patrol agents in my district who we work with every day. So as you talked about the challenges they're facing because of the surge on both the Southern and Northern Border, we hear that every single day from my constituents. And thank you, Sheriff, on behalf of all the incredible law enforcement officers including the 15 County Sheriffs in my district who work so hard every day. We're so grateful for your leadership. Thank you very much.”
