Defend the Border, Don’t Defund It

With a shutdown temporarily averted over the weekend, Congress now has a little more than a month to pass a resolution that keeps the government open. If it fails to pass anything, Border Patrol agents will likely be forced to work overtime for zero pay. And if vital border-security initiatives are defunded during a historic migrant surge, cartels will be cashing in. TOP STORIES House Votes to Oust Kevin McCarthy, Vacating Speaker’s Chair for First Time in History DAVID ZIMMERMANN, AUDREY FAHLBERG Speaker Pro Tempore McHenry Orders Nancy Pelosi to Vacate Her Office HALEY STRACK Kevin McCarthy Bows Out of House Speakership Rerun after Historic Ouster AUDREY FAHLBERG During the previous government shutdown, in 2019, border agents were left scrambling to find second jobs to make ends meet. Putting our Border Patrol agents in a situation in which they’re once again forced to moonlight may be the final straw that causes thousands of them to quit in droves — that is, if they weren’t planning to do so already. Last May, a government audit found that one-fourth of Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were already planning to quit their posts within the next year because of burnout. Pausing payments will surely encourage more of them to leave. And while suicides among Border Patrol officers are at a 13-year high, shutting down the government also means suspending the agency’s suicide-prevention program. Even before President Biden took office, suicides among Border Patrol officers were nearly 30 percent higher than they were in other federal law-enforcement agencies. As more officers struggle to pay mortgages or afford child care, a shutdown would risk pushing this rate even higher. The Week Bill Clinton: ‘There Is a Limit’ to How Many Migrants U.S. Can Take Unwanted Migration Isn’t Rain — You Can Stop It A shutdown would also jeopardize Border Patrol’s physical safety. A Senate report assessing the damage caused in the aftermath of the last three shutdowns found that delays in repairing infrastructure endangered border personnel and exacerbated security vulnerabilities. And at a time when the agency needs thousands of additional agents to intercept cartels and control the migrant surge, the shutdown would freeze the hiring of new agents and trigger widespread furloughs of support staff. If smugglers and cartels weren’t already emboldened at the prospect of our border apparatus being overseen by an unpaid and demoralized skeleton crew, they would be by the cancellation of CBP’s counter-drone program. This initiative is crucial for helping Border Patrol detect when cartels are using drones to spy on them and exploit security gaps. Border Patrol sector chief Gloria Chavez previously warned that CBP’s adversaries have “17 times the number of drones, twice the number of flight hours, and unlimited funding to grow their operations.” Last year, Chavez’s Rio Grande Valley Sector was subject to more than 10,000 drone incursions from hostile actors. 61 At a time when smugglers and cartels are weaponizing the migrant crisis in order to traffic fentanyl and other illicit substances into the U.S., Congress should be ramping up border-security investments — not doing the opposite. Lawmakers must swiftly pass a budget this month that keeps the government open and start enacting reforms that truly secure our border. At the bare minimum, Congress should pass legislation that ensures Border Patrol is still funded during a shutdown. Although conventional wisdom holds that lawmakers are unlikely to work across the aisle to pass a proper border-security package, it’s worth noting that many of the provisions laid out in the Republicans’ Secure the Border Act — such as increasing Border Patrol staffing, raising pay, and upgrading obsolete technology — have a history of bipartisan support and can be starting points for negotiations. And while correcting the problems in the asylum system remains a sticking point, members of Congress have previously hashed out some solutions to prevent bad actors from abusing the process. In the meantime, however, the clock is ticking. Congress must pass a budget — because closing the government could mean further opening the border. For more information, visit us at https://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/.