By Rep. Lauren Boebert | Commentary, The Hill
For four years under the Biden administration, Americans watched our southern border collapse. Record numbers of illegal crossings poured into the country. Cartels flourished. Fentanyl flooded our communities. Criminal illegal immigrants, including members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang, embedded themselves in my home state of Colorado and across the United States.
The previous administration’s open-border policies were a choice. That chaos ended when President Trump returned to office and Republicans in Congress kept the promise we made to the American people.
At the start of the 119th Congress, I voted for the Laken Riley Act, which requires the detention of illegal immigrants charged with theft, burglary or similar crimes. Named after the young woman murdered by an illegal immigrant who should never have been free to walk our streets, this law is a straightforward step to protect American communities from preventable violence.
Since January 2025, the results have been dramatic and undeniable. Daily encounters at the southwest border have plummeted by roughly 95 percent, falling from more than 5,000 per day under the Biden administration to about 250. For months at a time — now more than a year straight — zero illegal immigrants have been released into the U.S. Apprehensions are at historic lows, including the lowest fiscal-year Border Patrol total since 1970. Deterrence is working again because the policies changed.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE HILL