Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Jason Smith (Mo.) slammed President Joe Biden for fueling more chaos on the border by getting rid of Title 42, a Trump administration policy that gave border security personnel the authority to block illegal immigrants from entering the U.S. if they pose a public health risk. Under Title 42, authorities expelled illegal immigrants at the Mexico border more than 2.8 million times. In March alone, nearly half of all migrant encounters ended in a Title 42 expulsion.

“No other president has created more chaos on our southern border than Joe Biden,” said Smith. “As President Trump said, ‘A nation without borders is not a nation.' From day one of his administration, Biden has recklessly pushed to get rid of any meaningful border security policies. Now, his administration is getting rid of Title 42 despite warnings by members of his own party that taking away this vital immigration enforcement tool will lead to unprecedented chaos on our border. This surge is likely to overwhelm our migrant processing facilities so that our brave Border Patrol agents have no other option but to release thousands of illegal immigrants into America, without any way of tracking them. It is reckless and completely unacceptable.”

Biden’s radical immigration agenda is spurring unprecedented chaos at the southern border. Since Biden took office, there have been over 5 million illegal crossings of our southern border and more than 1.3 million “gotaways.” In Biden’s first 100 days in office, he took 94 executive actions on immigration, including halting the construction of the border wall.

Smith continued, “The American people voted in a Republican House majority to get our country back on track, and that includes restoring order at the border. The Secure the Border Act of 2023, which I was proud to help pass, will force Biden to get serious about combating illegal immigration. I will continue fighting tooth and nail to advance policies to secure the border and hold Biden accountable for all the damage he has inflicted on our nation.”

On May 11, the same day Title 42 expired, House Republicans passed the Secure the Border Act of 2023. The legislation will help restore order at the border and combat illegal immigration by:

• Requiring the Biden administration to restart construction of the border wall;
• Deploying technology to the southern and northern border;
• Increasing the number of Border Patrol agents and provide bonus pay;
• Requiring transparency regarding illegal crossings from the Department of Homeland Security;
• Strengthening current law to protect unaccompanied children from human trafficking;
• Ending catch and release;
• Preventing abuse of executive immigration authority; and
• Enhancing and streamlining the asylum process.

Smith is a vocal opponent of the president’s radical immigration agenda, including Biden’s years-long efforts to get rid of Title 42 and his refusal to build the border wall.

Last year, as the top Republican on the House Budget Committee, Smith led a group of 12 members of Congress to the Rio Grande Valley to meet and tour with officials from Border Patrol, the state of Texas, and the City of McAllen, Texas. While visiting an illegal immigrant detainment facility, Border Patrol officials told Smith and his colleagues that Title 42 allowed them to deport at least half of the thousand or so occupants of that facility back to their home countries in Central America; without Title 42, all would be released inside the U.S.

During his trip to the border, Smith also uncovered hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of steel – paid for by taxpayers – that was rusting away on the ground because of Biden’s decision to stop construction on Trump’s border wall.