Strong Committee Report shows Biden Administration has emboldened cartels, criminals, and America's enemies—fueling the border crisis

WASHINGTON—Congressman Dale W. Strong (AL-05), member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, is joining Republican colleagues in holding Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas accountable for the crisis at the Southwest border.

This week, the committee released a second interim report as part of its comprehensive oversight investigation into the crisis at the Southwest border. The report provides firsthand testimony from law enforcement officials and insight from the frontlines of the border crisis. It outlines how cartels gained control at the Southwest border and how the current policies set forth by President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas have fuel the cartels’ human smuggling and drug trafficking operations.

“President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ ongoing border crisis has escalated into a national security nightmare. It’s no secret that the Biden administration has handed over control of our Southwest border to the Mexican cartels. Something must be done, and I will not stand idly by,” said Representative Dale Strong.

See highlights from the report here:

“Numerous law enforcement veterans, local officials, and national security experts agree that the cartels have seized an unprecedented level of control at the Southwest border. This control represents a significant challenge to CBP’s national security mission, the safety of American communities, and the sovereignty of the United States.”

“The testimony of experienced border security and law enforcement professionals, to say nothing of the sheer number of illegal aliens and illicit drugs being moved across the border every day, together demonstrate that the cartels now possess a historic level of control at the Southwest border. Despite their heroic efforts, the men and women of federal, state, and local law enforcement have been overwhelmed by the onslaught, and are only able to mitigate some of the consequences of that control.”

“The cartels have seized control as a result of the open-borders policies of Mayorkas and the Biden administration. These groups have seized on the millions of people streaming through Mexico to the Southwest border to take advantage of Mayorkas’ radical “catch and release” policies, confident in the knowledge that if they gain entrance into the United States, they will never be sent home. The cartels have capitalized on this eagerness, and devised insidious new ways to take advantage of vulnerable populations to ensure an effectively endless stream of revenue.”

Read the phase two interim report here. Read the previous phase interim report on Secretary Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty here.