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There are old threats, new threats, and growing threats to America that must be addressed as quickly as possible. We are playing Russian roulette with our national security If we delay in securing our broken borders.
More than 200 Americans die every day from fentanyl overdoses. This equates to another September 11 attack approximately every two weeks due to illicit drugs Coming across our borders. Every week we delay is a death sentence for thousands of Americans.
The shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan has energized terrorist organizations around the world. Now with the unrest in Syria, the capacity and numbers of jihadist groups threatening America are increasing. While the recent collapse of the Assad regime in Syria was a major loss for Russia and Iran, the chaos it brings to the region could pose a direct threat to the United States.
First, the extremist group that overthrew the Assad regime was linked to Al-Qaeda in the past and its leader is a former detainee who was captured on the battlefield in Iraq and was also linked to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Founder of ISIS.
Migrants walk along the highway through Suchiate, Chiapas state in southern Mexico, Sunday, July 21, 2024, as they journey north toward the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente)
Second, Turkey views the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a primarily Kurdish force guarding more than 50,000 ISIS prisoners, as a terrorist entity. These Kurdish forces helped the United States destroy the ISIS caliphate, and if infiltrated, there could be an escape of ISIS prisoners.
This would be a nightmare for America and the rest of the world.
In case anyone has forgotten, ISIS is responsible for and inspired some of the worst terrorist attacks the world has ever seen. On November 13, 2015, the French city of Paris was attacked in multiple locations, including the Bataclan Theater, resulting in the deaths of 130 people. In 2016, 49 Americans were killed in a Florida nightclub in an ISIS-inspired shooting spree. The following year, 22 people were killed in Manchester, UK, at a concert arena.
Now imagine a perfect storm.
Cartels are in the business of bringing people to America, and will take anyone's money – including terrorists. The terrorist groups controlling Syria – most of which want to eliminate the United States – are now in a new position of power. If any one of these terrorists, whether ISIS or otherwise, wanted to infiltrate our country, it would simply require paying off a money-hungry gang.
Over the past four years, there have been 1.7 million encounters at the southern border with undocumented immigrants from “countries of special interest” — countries identified by the Department of Homeland Security as posing the greatest national security and counterintelligence threat to the United States — and 687 encounters with immigrants at the southern border. . Terrorism watch list. If our border crisis is allowed to continue, any number of terrorists could make their way to America, and we would be none the wiser.
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It is essential that we strengthen our national security. The way to do this is by securing our broken borders, increasing the number of ICE agents to deport criminals and gang members, and increasing the number of bed spaces in detention centers so that we do not have to release illegal immigrants into the United States. Build the wall, use technology that will give us 24/7 situational awareness at the border.
President-elect Donald Trump has sought to secure the border and make America safer and more prosperous. The focus of his campaign has been to repair the damage done by the Biden administration and to do it quickly.
The shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan has energized terrorist organizations around the world. Now with the unrest in Syria, the capacity and numbers of jihadist groups threatening America are increasing. While the recent collapse of the Assad regime in Syria was a major loss for Russia and Iran, the chaos it brings to the region could pose a direct threat to the United States.
I will be Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee in the new Congress. Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune and I have worked closely with the Trump team to get to work making sure that we have a transformative border security bill that passes through the budget reconciliation process and gets on Trump's desk as soon as possible in the new year.
I firmly believe that we should not allow the Trump tax cuts to expire. We must also find ways to achieve regulatory reform and cut spending to address the deficit. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and other stakeholders will be valuable resources to the Committee when it comes time to cut spending and lock in tax cuts.
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But the top priority of the Senate Budget Committee — and the Trump administration — is to secure our southern border and help the Department of Defense combat growing threats before it is too late. I urge every member of the House and Senate to receive an intelligence briefing on the threats facing us.
We are living on borrowed time given the increasing threats around the world. If we fail to secure our fractured borders at this time of great risk, the United States will likely be the victim of a national security catastrophe.
