FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans, ahead of the State of the Union address by President Biden Thursday evening, are zeroing in on the ongoing border crisis in the first of a number of videos they say will highlight the “Faces of Biden’s State of the Union in Crisis.”
The first video released by the House Republican Conference features Brandon Budlong, a Border Patrol agent and president of the National Border Patrol Council’s (NBPC) branch in Theresa, New York. Budlong is also a guest of Conference Chair Elise Stefanik’s at the address.
In the video, Budlong said he wishes people could see the work Border Patrol agents are doing and the increase in their workload.
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People camp as they wait to cross the border between Mexico and the United States in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Dec. 27, 2023. (Christian Torres/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“We’re not doing what we’re meant to be doing to keep our communities and the public safe. Instead, we’re streamlining millions of people in the country illegally,” Budlong said.
He says the crisis at the southern border is leading to redeployment from the northern border, leaving the northern border more open to illegal immigrants and drugs. He mentioned the death of Laken Riley in Georgia and says it was “extremely frustrating” to him and his colleagues.
“It makes you almost feel like you’ve failed at your job even though you did everything you could with the policies in place,” Budlong said. “This administration created this crisis, and they could fix it but refuse to do so.”
Split image of President Biden, left, and migrants attempting to cross into the U.S. (Getty Images)
Republicans have hammered the administration on the crisis, which they say is the result of Biden’s policies and the reversal of Trump-era policies that secured the border. On Thursday, it will be one of a number of areas where they will attack the president’s record.
“In his final State of the Union, Joe Biden will desperately attempt to ‘reset’ his failed far left policies that have hurt hardworking families and cost American lives,” Stefanik told Fox News Digital.
“House Republicans will not let that happen. Filling the audience tonight will be the faces of Joe Biden’s State of the Union in crisis. In Joe Biden’s America, it is crystal clear that the American people are struggling. From #Bidenflation and open borders to failed national security and an overwhelming crime crisis, House Republicans are giving a platform to expose the everyday impact of the real America under Joe Biden.
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“We will not allow Joe Biden to brush his failures under the rug; these brave American voices and stories deserve to be heard.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
The administration says it is dealing with a hemisphere-wide crisis and a “broken” immigration system and needs funding and comprehensive immigration reform from Congress to fix it.
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In his address, Biden is expected to renew calls for Congress to pass a bipartisan Senate bill, which was backed by the NBPC and would include additional staffing for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other DHS agencies.
The deal includes $1.4 billion in funding to cities and NGOs receiving migrants, action to tackle fentanyl smuggling and a limit on asylum claims. It would also increase detention beds to 50,000 and provide additional immigration judges. However, conservatives have opposed it, saying it is insufficient and would normalize high levels of illegal immigration. House Republicans have instead called for the passage of the GOP border legislation passed in the House last year.
Biden is likely to make similar appeals to those he made last week at the border in Brownsville, Texas.
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“Folks, the bipartisan border security bill is a win for the American people and a win for the people of Texas, and it’s fair for those who legitimately have a right to come here,” Biden said.
“The U.S. Senate needs to reconsider this bill, and those senators who oppose it need to set politics aside and pass it on the merits, not on whether it’s going to benefit one party or another party.”
