Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) sent a delegation letter to Gov. Laura Kelly (D-Kansas) urging her to send Kansas law-enforcement resources to assist border states Texas and Arizona. Since President Biden took office, there has been an unprecedented influx of illegal activity and immigration along the southern border. Without adequate support from the federal government, Texas has been forced to issue a disaster declaration and Arizona declared a state of emergency.

“By removing critical border enforcement measures and offering amnesty to those here illegally, the Biden administration has created a border crisis they can no longer ignore,” said Rep. Estes. “As a member of the border security caucus, I’ve seen firsthand the distress Biden’s open border policy brings to states that share a border with Mexico and the accompanying national security risk it has for the entire United States.”

The Kansas delegation joins other state delegations urging their governors to send support. Read the letter here.

Background information:

• For May CBP encounters with illegal immigrants on the Mexican border increased more than 600% compared to last May (180,000 border encounters in May)
• There has been a spike in lethal drug trafficking – more fentanyl seized by CBP so far in 2021 than in all of 2020
• There’s been a rise in cartel activity that FBI director testified is “spilling over” into the U.S.
• New Harvard/Harris Poll: An overwhelming 80% think that illegal immigration is a serious issue and a majority support stricter border policies

Two measures removed by the Biden administration which had slowed illegal crossings under President Trump were:

1. the Migrant Protection Protocols (made asylum seekers wait in Mexico for a hearing before entering the US), and
2. asylum agreements with countries in Central America that required migrants to claim asylum in the first safe country they entered.