TAKE ACTION: Americans Demand Border Security Petition

The border crisis is real—and inaction by Congressional Democrats is irresponsible. To protect our communities, the Trump Administration is requesting funds for common sense border security funding.

We must have a secure border in order to:

• Reduce illegal immigration.
• Protect American lives.
• Combat the opioid epidemic.
• Protect vulnerable individuals from exploitation by human traffickers.

Background

Insufficient border security is creating a crisis in communities across America and at the southern border. For instance, 90 percent of the heroin in America comes through our southern border, fueling the opioid epidemic and destroying our communities.

America welcomes more than one million legal immigrants every year who go through a long vetting process. However, the current immigration system is broken due to a combination of outdated legal immigration rules and lax enforcement that exacerbates lawlessness.

In 2017 and 2018, roughly 235,000 illegal immigrants were arrested on various criminal charges or convictions within the interior of the United States—including roughly 100,000 for assault, 30,000 for sex crimes, and 4,000 for homicides.

Insufficient border security is creating a crisis in communities throughout America. 90 percent of the heroin in America comes through our southern border, fueling the opioid epidemic, destroying families, and killing thousands of our fellow citizens. In the past two years, more Americans have died from opioid overdoses than died in the Vietnam war.

Furthermore, human smugglers are exploiting our immigration system for profit and putting innocent lives at risk. One in three migrant women are sexually assaulted on the dangerous trek to the border.

The border crisis is real—and inaction is irresponsible. To protect our communities, the Trump Administration is requesting funds for common sense border security. This ask includes:

• $5.7 billion for construction of approximately 234 miles of steel barrier along the Southern Border
• $675 million to deter and detect dangerous materials crossing our borders like narcotics and weapons
• $563 million that would provide for 75 additional immigration judges and support staff who are necessary to reduce the backlog of immigration cases that are sitting right now at the border
• $211 million for 750 additional border patrol agents, who DHS officials have deemed paramount to this fight
• $571 million for additional ICE personnel
• $4.2 billion for detention center materials and personnel

As a first step to combat this crisis, Congress must pass a spending bill that provides the funding that the President has requested. In addition to obtaining increased border security funding today, we must continue to push for real reforms to our legal immigration system. Necessary reforms include ending chain migration, adopting a skills-based immigration system, and closing loopholes in the asylum claim process.

TAKE ACTION: Sign the petition to tell Democrats in Congress to stop holding our safety hostage!

EDITORS NOTE: This Heritage Action column is republished with permission. The featured photo is by Roman Koester on Unsplash.

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