House Committee Holds Arizona Field Hearing on Biden Border Crisis
The House Judiciary Committee recently held a field hearing to examine the effects of the border crisis in Arizona. The hearing, titled “The Biden Border Crisis: Arizona Perspectives,” focused on testimony from law enforcement and Arizona residents. Members heard testimony from Chris Clem, a retired Chief Border Patrol Agent, Jacob Kartchner, a retired Cochise County Sheriff’s Deputy, Jim Chilton, an Arizona rancher, and Jill Fagan Alexander, a mother who lost two sons due to fentanyl poisoning.
Throughout the hearing, Members were sharply critical of the Biden administration’s reversal of policies proven effective under the previous administration, particularly rolling back Remain in Mexico and stopping border wall construction. In his opening statement, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), stated, “On day one of his presidency, Joe Biden intentionally changed policies that were working and created the crisis at the border.” On the same day as the field hearing, the Biden administration also came under fire for silencing top Border Patrol officials for years in an attempt to conceal the number of unlawful entries into the United States.
The impact of drug cartels on American communities was a special point of focus for Arizona representatives. Congressman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) expressed concern about high-speed chases between law enforcement and drug cartels near the southern border, and continued to share concerns about young Americans working for drug cartels. According to Biggs, drug cartels are “recruiting at high schools, they’re recruiting on Snapchat, Instagram” and even provide “specific load out places” for their U.S.-based associates to meet and transport illegal aliens. In his comments, Congressman Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) emphasized that “everyone is unanimous on the opinion and the fact that this is the worst that we’ve ever seen.”
Abuse of the CBP One mobile app was also a central theme in the hearing. Congressman Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) was direct in his criticism, arguing that the purpose of the tool under President Biden is to “make it easier to flood the United States with illegal aliens.” Speaking to witnesses regarding Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ and President Joe Biden’s motivations for refusing to secure the border, Crane said, “I think [it’s] because they don’t give a damn about you guys. That’s what I think.” In April, 41,400 illegal migrants were processed into the country through the CBP One app, for a total of more than 591,000 since the app rolled out in January 2023.
Retired Cochise County Sheriff’s Deputy, Jacob Kartchner, raised additional concerns. He stated that since 2021, the number of military-aged males crossing the southern border has increased more than tenfold. Citing a level of sophistication that distinguishes these military-age males from how the media often covers illegal migrants, Kartchner testified: “What comes across the Arizona desert are generally males, ages 18-40, wearing camouflage from head to toe, including wearing carpet over their shoes to make it harder to detect and track them” Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, 367 suspects on the FBI’s terrorist watchlist have been encountered illegally crossing our borders, compared to just 14 such encounters in the previous four fiscal years.
Under the Biden administration, Americans across the country are being forced to face the consequences of these disastrous border policies in their communities and daily lives. Funding alone won’t solve the Biden administration’s border crisis, and neither will weak bills that reinforce this administration’s open-borders agenda. In the coming weeks and months, FAIR will continue to advocate for meaningful steps to secure our borders and enforce our immigration laws.
To learn more about H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, and how you can get involved, visit FAIR’s activist toolkit here. To read more about actions that Biden can take to secure our borders today, click here.