Hoeven: Border Security is National Security

Senator Outlines Need to Secure Border as 125 ND Guard Members Prepare to Deploy to Southern Border

WASHINGTON – At a press conference today, Senator John Hoeven, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, joined his colleagues in outlining the ongoing crisis at the southern border and pressing the administration to secure the border. Hoeven highlighted the upcoming deployment of 125 North Dakota National Guard members, who are deploying to the southern border for a year-long assignment to support U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) border security operations.

“The crisis at our southern border is a real security risk and brings significant harm to the families and children being trafficked, as well as communities on both sides of the border,” said Hoeven. “The administration needs to get serious about securing the border and enforcing policies that worked to deter illegal immigration. Instead, their inaction is exacerbating the problem. Now, we have 125 Guard members from North Dakota, a northern border state, being deployed to the southern border to help with the security situation.”

In March, the senator traveled to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas to see firsthand the ongoing illegal immigration crisis at the southern border with border patrol and local leaders. In July, Hoeven traveled with a bipartisan congressional delegation (CODEL) to Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Guatemala to discuss bilateral relations, including the need to work together to stop illegal migration and prevent human and drug trafficking.

Hoeven has been pressing the administration to resume construction of the border wall and put in place the infrastructure, personnel and technology needed to secure the border. At the same time, Hoeven has been urging the Administration to reinstate other key immigration policies. That includes:

• Fully enforce the CDC’s Title 42 Public Health Order, an important tool that allows immigration officials to return illegal immigrants to their home country and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• The Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or Remain in Mexico Policy, which required people seeking asylum at the southern border to wait in Mexico while their case was adjudicated.
• The Safe Third Country Agreements so those seeking asylum from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala can be returned to their home country to await the outcome of their claims.

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