Congressman Chip Roy takes on Biden administration’s refusal to uphold the law

President Joe Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas have failed to faithfully discharge the duties of their office when it comes to securing America’s southern border, and as a result border states like Texas must take all necessary steps to protect the border and address the tragic loss of life which impacts both migrants and U.S. citizens as a result.

That was the message from Congressman Chip Roy of Texas’s 21^st Congressional District at a webinar sponsored by the Center for Security Policy on October 20^th.

Roy highlighted that the Biden administration intransigence is not just causing the crisis, where hundreds of thousands of illegal crossings now take place every month overwhelming U.S. Border Patrol and local communities, but the stubborn refusal to uphold the law is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

“The President of the United States, the Secretary of Homeland Security are obligated to enforce uphold the laws of the United States. Go back to Article 4 Section 4 of the Constitution, it’s a guarantee that we have a republican form of government and that the federal government will defend us from invasion,” Roy told Center senior analyst for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Kyle Shideler.

“We have numerous laws on the books that require the secretary of homeland security, or our officials to secure the border” Roy noted, highlighting the “Secure Fencing Act” of 2006 which obligated the federal government to establish operational control of the border. “These are all requirements, they are not suggestions,” Roy added, “You don’t have discretion to not do it.”

Chief among successful policies the Biden administration has abandoned are the Migrant Protection Protocols, better known as the “Remain in Mexico Policy.”

Roy emphasized the tremendous human cost of the Biden administration’s dereliction of duty, noting the deleterious impact of drug smuggling and human trafficking.

“Fentanyl is killing Americans, over 100,000 opioid overdoses or poisonings in the last year. We’re at extraordinary unseen numbers, a hockey stick increase. And it is driven by cartels, and driven by China, and perpetuated by an administration that refuses to enforce the border.”

When asked why the Biden administration stubbornly refuses to apply successful policies, like Remain in Mexico, Roy cited “crass politics” saying,

“This administration, the democrats currently in power, could give a rat’s rear end about the actual well being of American citizens or the migrants that seek to come here. In the false name of compassion, they say open borders are good for migrants. They are lying. As evidence by the dead migrants, by the girls who get raped in the middle of the desert in south Texas.”

Given the growing human tragedy at the border, Roy urges states, especially Texas, to step in and secure their citizens. “If we know the president and we know the secretary are not going to enforce the law,” Roy said highlighting the numerous threats to life of both citizens and migrant, “Then it is incumbent upon a people, and a state, such as Texas, to make a determination for themselves that they need to secure their own communities.”

Roy applauded Texas Governor Greg Abbott for sending Texas Department of Public Safety resources to the Del Rio sector to support border patrol during the recent incident where Border Patrol was overwhelmed by a massive influx of over 15,000 Haitian migrants and called for the state to go still further.

“In this case, you don’t sit back. If you are sitting on your ranch in 1870s Texas, and the Comanches are riding down on your ranch, you don’t go ‘well I wonder what my rights are here? Who do I need to call do I need to go to a judge to find out what I’m able to do? No, you defend yourself. You defend your family. You defend your community.”

Roy urged states not to fear federal litigation if they seek to defend their citizens’ constitutional rights, and concluded saying, “put a little tension with the feds and call their bluff. I don’t believe Joe Biden, or the federal authorities have the gumption to try to come into Texas and tell us we can’t secure Texas.”