WASHINGTON—Heritage’s homeland security team responded Friday to the release of new numbers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) showing CBP made more than 188,000 apprehensions at the southern border in June, marking the fourth straight month above 170,000 apprehensions and continuing the historic crisis at our border. The time for talk is over—the time for action is now:

Chad Wolf, former acting DHS secretary and Heritage visiting fellow:

“These numbers show that the Biden border crisis is not going to stop until the Biden administration reverses course on its open-borders policies.

 

“Recently, an MSNBC host claimed during a conversation with me that the border crisis actually began under the previous administration, a misleading claim on many levels. This unfortunately is the reaction by far too many on the left when challenged about the facts of the Biden border crisis.It’s time to get back to policies that were working: securing our border and giving law enforcement the tools they need. While the mainstream media chooses not to cover the crisis any longer, I can tell you that local and federal law enforcement officers that I have talked to have never seen conditions so dire.I urge all Americans to stand up for our system of law and order. Stand up for our law enforcement and do not become numb to this crisis.”

Mark Morgan, former acting CBP commissioner and Heritage visiting fellow:

“This month we celebrated our nation’s independence from a government that treated the law as an inconvenience and put the goals of the elites above the interests of the common man and the rule of law itself. In similar fashion, the Biden administration has turned the rule of law on its head in sparking this border crisis. It has willfully advanced policies to open our borders, reinstitute catch-and-release, and create an unprecedented flood of illegal immigration on our southern border. Make no mistake, the Biden administration has sparked a constitutional crisis in pursuit of what it perceives to be a political benefit. At this point, what other logical explanation is there?

 

“This is no longer a time just for words—it is a time for action. It is time for the people’s representatives to take meaningful steps to hold this administration accountable for its blatant and willful disregard for our laws. Federal, state, and local leaders should use their considerable authority to thwart this administration’s open-borders agenda at every turn. Texas is already leading the way here, and I’m glad to see other states stepping up to support them.

 

“Leaders in Congress are also not powerless. They can withhold funding that is directed only at facilitating the crisis instead of truly stopping it, refuse to approve any nominees who will implement this agenda, and support states forced to respond to the Biden administration’s inaction. It cannot be 'business as usual' when the White House is violating its most sacred duty to protect this country. Every point of leverage, whether directly immigration and border-related or not, should be used to force the Biden administration to end this constitutional crisis.”

Lora Ries, former acting DHS deputy chief of staff and Heritage senior research fellow:

“It’s still hard to believe the only person in this administration to call this a ‘crisis’ is Press Secretary Jen Psaki, and even then, only by accident. This unprecedented border crisis should be a national embarrassment, but the Biden administration is simply not interested in solving the crisis, because they created the crisis. The utter inaction after months of these crisis numbers on our southern border should leave Americans with no uncertainty: the Biden administration either sees a perceived political benefit in this crisis, or the president is too intimidated to stand up to his radical, open-borders base. Either way, it’s a bad sign for all of us.

 

“But Americans should not accept the Biden administration’s dereliction of duty. Any American outraged and worried by this self-imposed crisis should put pressure on his or her representatives at every level of government every day until change happens. They should not be afraid to speak out and stand up for what makes our nation great. The Biden administration is overseeing this crisis hoping the American people eventually lose interest and move on. It’s time to show them how wrong that calculation is.”

For more information on the Biden border crisis, visit Heritage’s resource at TheBidenBorderCrisis.com. The website chronicles in one place the various actions the Biden administration has taken to open America’s southern border, undermine the rule of law, and mislead Americans about what is happening at the border.