Ariz AG Mark Brnovich: Biden's broken border – his policies fuel crisis. Here's why we must uphold rule of law
The Biden administration has diminished and made a mockery of our immigration laws
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The United States of America has historically welcomed millions of immigrants to its shores, given them boundless opportunities to achieve the American Dream, and provided their descendants with even more opportunities.
As a first-generation American, I understand the beauty of America’s immigration system that gave shelter to my family from communism. I was given opportunities that my parents could never have imagined when they began their search for freedom and a better life. My daughters have been granted even more opportunities.
Yet, for decades, the federal government has failed in its responsibility to maintain law and order at our borders. This has compromised the integrity of our legal immigration system and opportunities for those seeking the blessings of freedom.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Our southern border is less safe, less secure and less fair to the millions of immigrants who have come to the United States the right way, and to the country that has always welcomed them. The Biden administration has diminished and made a mockery of our immigration laws.
Though this issue has lasted through several U.S. presidential administrations, our nation has rarely seen a crisis at the border like the one we have witnessed in the first six months of the Biden administration.
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In Biden’s first month in office (February), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported encounters of 101,095 – the first time since June 2019 (the end of the 2019 border surge) that encounters topped 100,000 in a single month. This number has increased every month through June (173,265, 178,850, 180,641 and 188,829).
While the summer months have historically brought a decrease in the reported number of encounters, that’s not what we are seeing this year.
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These numbers may come as a shock to some, but they are not surprising to me and millions of Americans who, for months on end, heard President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and their radical allies in Congress detail their schemes to unlawfully open our borders
Before the Biden administration, the border had leaks. Now it is broken beyond repair, and there is no doubt about the policies that have wrecked it.
That’s why my office immediately took action to address President Biden’s clear intent to incentivize, decriminalize and monetize illegal migration into America. We’ve gone to court on four issues:
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}*The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Interim Guidance that presumptively halts nearly all deportations,
*DHS’s violation of the National Environmental Policy Act when it ended border wall construction,
*DHS’s rescission of the Migrant Protection Protocols,
*The administration’s abandonment of the 2019 Public Charge Rule.
We have been using every tool in our box to hold the administration accountable to the rule of law and to protect the interests of Arizonans and all Americans.
Sadly, the federal government’s refusal to secure the border and enforce our laws endangers public safety and deteriorates American sovereignty in ways that we have never seen.
Border security was never intended to be a suggestion or a political lightning rod. It has real, tangible implications for all of us.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hundreds of thousands of migrants are now being released into our communities, with little monitoring from law enforcement. Drug cartels dominate the southern border, terrorizing ranchers and destroying their properties. Illicit drugs are being smuggled into our schools and communities. Thousands of "gotaways" escape detection from border officials, leaving us to question their intent and identities.
Sadly, the federal government’s refusal to secure the border and enforce our laws endangers public safety and deteriorates American sovereignty in ways that we have never seen.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In addition, this gross abandonment of the rule of law – facilitated by our own government – is the exact opposite of what millions of immigrants expect or deserve when they legally arrive on our shores. This is not the American way.
The Biden administration and its left-wing allies may believe they are above the law, but they are not. The rule of law applies to everyone in this country. It is what makes America the shining city on a hill. All of us, no matter where we came from, must understand and uphold it.