VIDEO: The Cost of Biden's Border Crisis to Taxpayers
WASHINGTON, D.C. - House Budget Committee Republican Leader Jason Smith (MO-08) released a video today documenting the cost of Biden’s Border Crisis to the American taxpayer that Smith and a group of Republican members recently investigated during a trip to the southern border – the largest group of Members of Congress to visit the southern border since President Biden took office. “As the lead Republican on the House Budget Committee, it is my job to investigate where and when Americans are being asked to hand over large sums of their tax dollars. Our trip to the southern border revealed that President Biden’s border crisis is costing taxpayers tens of billions of dollars, and his ongoing efforts to end the Title 42 border policy will only make things worse,” said House Budget Committee Republican Leader Smith. “On day one of his Presidency, Joe Biden illegally froze wall construction funding. In doing so, the President not only defied the will of Congress, but his irresponsible and illegal actions sparked the worst humanitarian and national security crisis at our border in over two decades. As a result, we have $350 million worth of steel beams sitting idle in a scrapyard instead of protecting our southern border from the growing influx of crime, drugs, and human traffickers. Taxpayers are being asked to hand over billions to house, feed, provide care items, and transport illegal immigrants. Border Patrol agents told us that they are working around the clock to deal with the massive influx of illegal immigrants created by President Biden’s policies, and their jobs will only grow tougher should President Biden succeed in lifting Title 42. Cartels are profiting hugely from the deliberate chaos taking place under President Biden’s watch, making roughly $32 million each and every day off illegally trafficking individuals across the border. The state of Texas is spending roughly $2.5 million per week to fill the void left by President Biden’s failed border policies. This is the legacy of one-party Democrat rule in Washington.”
Key Facts:
- Over 2.6 million illegal immigrants have been apprehended at the southern border since Biden took office.
- Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has seized 390,000 pounds of drugs in FY22, including 6,600 pounds of fentanyl – enough to kill every man, woman, and child in America more than 7 times over.
- Cartels are profiting roughly $32 million per day from human trafficking.
- On day one, President Biden illegally froze $1.4 billion in Congressionally-appropriated border wall construction funds.
- Taxpayers are paying roughly $6 million per day to contractors to guard $350 million worth of unused border steel that is sitting in various scrapyards around the country.
- The State of Texas is spending $2.5 million per week to mitigate the cost of President Biden’s border crisis.
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