April 19, 2021
Border Crisis Intensifies, and Vice President Harris is still M.I.A.
The illegal immigration crisis on our southern border is only getting worse, and unfortunately this administration has continued to do everything they can to ignore the problem.
This week, the Biden Administration again completely blindsided our district. I recently learned that the Administration decided to transition the HHS site for unaccompanied illegal migrants in Midland into one for tender-aged children (5-12 years old), both male and female, and teen girls from the ages of 13-17 years old.
I have seen this facility first-hand, and it absolutely does not meet safety requirements for young children.
What was initially established as a temporary emergency holding site is again being expanded with zero communication or coordination with Midland law enforcement officers or local officials. All this despite the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, personally assuring me that miscommunications would not happen again. Our neighbors deserve to know what is going on in our own backyard.
This crisis is only going to get worse, as an estimated 25,000 illegal unaccompanied children are expected to cross our southern border in May alone, with human smugglers and cartels exploiting them in every way along the journey.
I called on Vice President Kamala Harris to immediately come to our district to see the plight of these minors firsthand. The Administration’s refusal to come and visit these areas or respond to our concerns is only making matters worse and endangering more lives.
Make no mistake, this is a crisis that must be dealt with immediately. In March, we saw a 400% increase in illegal border crossings compared to this time last year. CBP is currently encountering more than 5,500 individuals per day, and DHS is on track to encounter more than two million migrants at the border by the end of the fiscal year.
President Biden and Vice President Harris must take responsibility for their actions, acknowledge the heartbreaking illegal immigration crisis, and take immediate action to secure our border.
Standing Up for Life
Last week, I signed a discharge petition for H.R. 629, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, that mandates that any infant born alive after an abortion receives the same standard of care as any newborn baby. This legislation would also institute penalties for abortionists who allow infants to die or who intentionally kill a newborn.
Leaving a baby born-alive during an abortion to die is not a partisan issue—it is infanticide.
Speaker Pelosi refuses to bring this legislation to the House Floor, but if our petition reaches 218 signatures, we will circumvent her power and force it to the Floor.
All life is sacred, and Americans deserve to know if their legislators support protecting life after birth. I am proud to stand up for the sanctity of life and am urging all of my colleagues to immediately sign this petition and end infanticide nationwide.
Back Home in the 11th District
It was incredible to be home in Texas. I was able to hold three town halls, two roundtables, tour the Mason Courthouse, and hold an impactful medal ceremony for three Vietnam Veterans who never received the medals they earned.
It was an honor to host three town hall meetings in Andrews, Lamesa, and Stanton, as well as two roundtables—one with bank leaders in Andrews and another with cotton producers in Lamesa.
Across the board, each of the groups I met with echoed a common theme—it all comes down to control. Leftists think that Democrats in Washington, D.C. should control our lives. But here in the 11th District, we know that no one truly understands the needs of a community like the small business owners, farmers and ranchers, and all of the good, honest people that make up the heart of our communities.
I will continue working every day as your voice in Washington to protect our freedoms.
