Hundreds of sheriffs from dozens of states sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Wednesday pushing him to solve the ongoing crisis at the U.S. southern border.
The letter, signed by 275 sheriffs from 39 states, warns of dangerous repercussions to allowing the flow of illegal immigrants into the U.S. to continue. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) reported taking a record number of 172,331 people into custody in March for entering the country illegally.
“America’s Sheriffs are deeply troubled about the dangerous impacts your administration’s border policies are having on our citizens, legal residents and communities,” says the letter, released by the Federation for American Immigration Reform. “You must act now before our nation’s public safety resources are overwhelmed with the criminal side effects of unchecked illegal immigration, including transnational gangs, guns, dangerous drugs and human trafficking.”
“As this situation continues to evolve, more families will be exposed to the violence associated with drug trafficking and transnational gangs,” the letter continues. “More parents will suffer the loss of their children, not because they were irresponsible, but because of exposure to criminal illegal alien violence caused by the reckless and irresponsible policies of your administration.”
“In a myriad of ways, you and your administration are encouraging and sanctioning lawlessness and the victimization of the people of the United States of America, all in the name of mass illegal immigration,” it says.
The sheriffs accuse Biden and his administration of intentionally creating the crisis at the border. Law enforcement had warned Biden and his Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas when both were serving in the Obama administration what the effects of such border policies would be, yet the Biden administration persisted in crafting policies that would encourage mass illegal immigration.
“In the interests of ending the undermining of our laws and the increased risks to the safety and security of the people of the United States of America, we respectfully request that you immediately reverse course on your pro-illegal immigration policies, resume the border wall construction, and embrace the common-sense, public-safety-supporting border policies of the previous administration,” the letter says.
The Biden administration may be walking back some of its border policies. Mayorkas told Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officials last week that the Biden administration was looking at closing “gaps” in the construction of the border wall started under former President Donald Trump, according to leaked notes from the meeting.
According to the notes, the Biden administration will not be constructing any new sections of wall, but renovating and enhancing those sections of wall already built.
“The president has communicated quite clearly his decision that the emergency that triggered the devotion of DOD funds to the construction of the border wall is ended,” the notes say. “But that leaves room to make decisions as the administration, as part of the administration, in particular areas of the wall that need renovation, particular projects that need to be finished.”