Boise City Wire

BOISE, Idaho – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement regarding the border crisis that he attributes to the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies.

“It’s well known and documented that America’s illegal immigration and border crisis was put into overdrive once President Biden and Vice President Harris took office. They reversed the work that President Trump did to get things under control and encouraged everyone to come on over, including terrorists and other criminals. In 2022, I led a group of Republican senators in putting out a report filled with solutions to the worsening border crisis. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, our advice was ignored.

“President Biden specifically tasked Vice President Harris to secure the border early on in his term, and the results speak for themselves. Vice President Harris failed in her job. Americans who are concerned about the flow of illegal immigrants into our country through open borders should rest assured that Republicans have solutions.”

Senator Risch outlined several issues he believes have been exacerbated by current administration policies:

The Biden-Harris Administration reversed important Trump-era reforms such as Title 42, Migrant Protection Protocols with Mexico, and Asylum Cooperative Agreements with northern Central American countries. These measures had effectively addressed illegal migration according to Risch but were replaced with what he describes as failed Obama-era policies.

Biden-Harris policy and foreign assistance efforts are said to undermine U.S. attempts to build effective law enforcement and asylum processing mechanisms across Mexico and Central America. This includes expanding prosecutorial discretion leading to less enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.

Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) reportedly benefit from this situation by profiting from smuggling and trafficking migrants or victimizing people along their journey.

The administration has allegedly not held accountable other governments failing to enforce obligations aimed at making migration more orderly, safe, and controlled.

To address these concerns, Risch proposed several Republican solutions:

Tighten ICE immigration enforcement.

Fully implement Migration Protection Protocols with Mexico and Asylum Cooperative Agreements with Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador while tying U.S. foreign aid to measurable progress in regional border security and asylum processing.

Use extradition treaties within the region to prosecute TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking.

Enhance enforcement of U.S. immigration laws while prioritizing technical assistance for improving asylum processing capacity in the region.

Risch's detailed report titled "Biden’s Border Crisis: Examining Policies that Encourage Illegal Migration" is available for further reference.