WASHINGTON –Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, today released a statement following President Trump’s announcement that he intends to impose tariffs on Mexican imports until the border crisis is addressed.

“In the face of record numbers of children and families arriving by the day, Democrats refuse to admit that our southwest border is at a breaking point and have offered zero solutions to address the border crisis since taking control of the House in January. As a direct result, the administration has already been forced to take extreme measures to secure our borders and deal with the immediate humanitarian crisis: from declaring a national emergency, to reassigning DHS personnel, to flying migrants across the country because law enforcement is unable to process the influx of migrants at our border.

“The president is running out of options to address the worsening border crisis. The best way to address the border crisis is for Congress to act. First, Congress should provide the administration the emergency $4.5 billion supplemental funding it has requested to shelter and care for the migrants arriving at our borders in droves. Then, we must pass legislation to close immigration loopholes smugglers and criminals continue to exploit.”

Background: President Trump has sounded the alarm that we have a crisis at out southwest border for months now. Migrant children and families continue to arrive in record numbers at our southwest border. Detention facilities are stretched well beyond their limits, leading both to migrants being held in unsuitable conditions and releasing migrants directly into American communities. Just this week, Border Patrol agents apprehended a group of more than 1,000 migrants – the largest group ever and we are on track to hit 1 million illegal border crossings this year.

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