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This week, Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH5) joined Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA4) and more than 60 Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives in a visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, located at the southern border. Members spoke with Border Patrol agents and discussed possible solutions to stem the humanitarian and national security crisis at the southern border.

Click here to view and download pictures from Latta’s trip to Eagle Pass. 

“I’ve been to the southern border four times, and I wish I could say it’s getting better, but unfortunately, it’s getting much worse,” Latta said. “In the month of December, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported apprehending a record shattering 302,000 illegal migrants crossing our southern border. Yet, there was no outrage or condemnation of this alarming news from the Biden administration. House Republicans have been consistently working on solutions to address this crisis, which includes advancing the Secure the Border Act, the strongest border security bill in decades, and passing my HALT Fentanyl Act to stem the flow of deadly fentanyl. The Senate must immediately take up both bills and send them to the President’s desk to be signed into law.”

Latta continued, “The crisis at the southern border is urgent and deserves our full attention. I’m going to continue working with my colleagues on solutions in Congress to secure our southern border. My sincere hope is that Democrats in Congress, our counterparts in the Senate, and the Biden administration does the same.”

Southern border statistics and information:

·         In 2023, CBP confiscated almost 230,000 pounds of drugs, including 22,000 pounds of illicit fentanyl, being smuggled across the southern border. 

·         In 2023, CBP encountered 2,542,056 illegal migrants attempting to cross the U.S. southern border. 

·         In December of 2023, CBP encountered 302,000 illegal migrants attempting to cross the U.S. southern border - shattering the record of illegal southern border crossings in one month. 

·         In December of 2023, CBP announced they would be temporarily suspending railway crossings in Eagle Pass, Texas, and El Paso, Texas, to redirect personnel to assist with the processing of an influx of illegal migrants. 

Legislative solutions:

·         Last year, Latta supported the Secure the Border Act, passed by the U.S. House, that would increase the number of Border Patrol agents, deploy technology to our nation’s borders, and resume physical barrier construction along the southern border.

·         In May of 2023, Latta and Rep. Morgan Griffith’s (VA-9) HALT Fentanyl Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would permanently schedule fentanyl-related substances as a Schedule I narcotic to help crack down on the scourge of fentanyl poisoning tens of thousands of Americans.