(TND) — America’s sheriffs are calling on Washington to find bipartisan solutions to secure our borders.
“We call upon our nation’s leaders to support us and our federal law enforcement partners by providing the necessary financial resources, and by making changes in foreign and border protection policies that will prevent crime, reduce the flow of lethal drugs into our nation, and safeguard the American people,” reads a position statement released this week by the American Sheriff Alliance.
The alliance represents over 3,000 sheriff’s offices nationwide and includes the National Sheriffs’ Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, Western States Sheriffs’ Association, Southwestern Border Sheriffs’ Coalition, and the Texas Border Sheriff’s Coalition.
Illegal border crossings are down from record-breaking levels but “remain exceedingly high and a threat to public safety,” the alliance said.
There have been more than 10 million illegal entry encounters nationwide since the beginning of fiscal 2021, up from about 3 million between fiscal 2017 and 2020.
There are an estimated 2 million “got-aways” who have evaded Customs and Border Protection and are now somewhere in the U.S., the group said.
The influx of immigrants cost taxpayers and strains local resources, with as hospitals and transportation, the group said.
And almost 400 illegal immigrants from 36 different countries have entered the country since early 2021 who appear on the government’s Terrorist Screening Database.
Most people come to the U.S. “seeking a better way of life for themselves and their families, escaping humanitarian crises, and/or seeking asylum from persecution or violence in their home countries, such as Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador,” the sheriffs’ alliance said.
But, the group warned, there “are also criminals and members of terrorist organizations who have the intent of harming Americans and destroying our way of life.”
The American Sheriff Alliance said it wants the White House and Congress to work on bipartisan solutions that would help stem the tide and secure our borders while also creating a legitimate and streamlined pathway to citizenship.
“While we can appreciate politicians and dignitaries who make visits to our borders, they need to come away with realistic solutions to the problems that would assist Sheriffs and our federal law enforcement partners in truly securing our borders and addressing the threats we are facing. The issues at the border are complex and deserve genuine attention by our policymakers, but the solutions will not be solved by using border visits for social media purposes only,” the alliance said.
The sheriffs want Washington to complete the border wall, end blanket asylum cooperation agreements, cease widespread catch-and-release practices, and expand the number of CBP and Drug Enforcement Administration personnel assigned to border security and drug interdiction. They also said sheriffs across the country need more federal support to hire more deputies and officers, and to obtain the technology that will better equip them to keep our communities safe.
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