Congressman Steve King has introduced a new House bill that would reimburse border states that deploy National Guard troops to secure America’s border with Mexico. The Iowa Republican says that President Barack Obama caused the current border crisis and he doesn’t expect him to take any steps to reverse it. King’s bill has already garnered over two dozen co-sponsors.
President Obama has asked the House for $3.7 billion to address the illegal immigration crisis, but only about two percent of those funds are slated for increasedborder security in the president’s plan.
States have already been committing some resources to border security, and some, including Texas governor Rick Perry, have called for federal funding for those efforts, given that border security is supposed to be a federal responsibility.
Representative King’s comments, from CNS News:
“The American people must understand that this surge in illegals coming across our border is a presidential-caused crisis. This President’s lawless actions such as DACA have caused this nightmare. These actions clearly demonstrate that he is not bound by the Constitution and will not take seriously his obligation to defend our sovereign borders.
“This crisis is devastating our communities and putting the burden on American taxpayers. Right now there is an incentive for illegals to continue to pour across our border, and the only way to discourage them is to seal our border and send them back. Therefore we call upon the southern border Governors to call up their National Guard units to secure the border. This resolution also commits the United States House to funding the states for the cost of securing our border. These are the only supplemental appropriations the House should be considering.”
Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), a co-sponsor of the resolution, said that deploying the National Guard “sends a clear message” to illegal immigrants
Securing the southern border with National Guard troops is not a permanent solution. Real security will require the completion of an appropriate border fence, funding for Border Patrol agents and technology to monitor that fence, internal efforts to find and deport those already in the country illegally, and economic sanctions levied against countries where the illegals originate.
Nonetheless, sealing the border will stop the current flood of immigration and give Customs and Border Patrol an opportunity to re-deploy resources away from processing new arrivals to where they belong–border enforcement. Authorizing state action is a good start, particularly, as King says, since federal action is unlikely under this administration.
