HARRISBURG – As the unprecedented rise in illegal immigration strains the resources of states throughout the nation, the Pennsylvania Senate approved a resolution today sponsored by Senate Republican leaders calling for action to address the border crisis and support states’ rights to protect their citizens.
Senate Resolution 234 – authored by Appropriations Committee Chair Scott Martin (R-13), Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-39), Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-41) and Majority Whip Ryan P. Aument (R-36) – voices support for the actions of Texas Governor Greg Abbott to secure the border amid federal inaction by the Biden Administration.
In addition to calling for the Biden Administration to stop impeding Texas’s efforts to limit illegal immigration, the resolution encourages Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro to join dozens of other governors from across the country who have announced their support of Governor Abbott. The Biden Administration is continuing to fight Governor Abbott’s lawful exercise of his Constitutional authority to defend his state and its citizens.
According to the U.S. Center for Immigration Services, the country’s illegal immigrant population grew to 12.8 million by October of 2023, up 2.6 million since January 2021, when President Biden took office and used executive orders to move financial resources away from the border, suspend deportations and end the successful “Remain in Mexico” policy.
“I went to the border last March and it was a scary experience. I witnessed people from all over the world not just Mexico crossing the border with the help of the cartels. Since President Biden refuses to act, I am calling on Gov. Shapiro to support the Governor of Texas by allowing states to handle the border crisis themselves to keep our country secure and provide the necessary relief to the many blues city mayors calling for help,” Ward said.
“One of the most fundamental issues of our time is protecting and securing our borders, and the sense of the Pennsylvania Senate must be expressed on this issue of such gravity. The Biden Administration’s failed immigration policies have left the United States of America in a vulnerable position. Ensuring public safety and national security are central tenets of what our government must provide. The lawlessness and chaos at our nation’s southern border is no doubt a crisis which must be rectified,” Pittman said.
“Illegal immigration not only creates a strain on our nation’s resources, but it also presents a serious threat to the safety of our citizens. The Biden Administration’s disastrous policies have created greater incidence of human trafficking, more guns and drugs smuggled across our border, and a whole host of other dangers. It is far past time for the federal government to provide the resources necessary to secure the border instead of wasting time fighting against states that are trying to do the right thing,” Martin said.
“President Biden’s destructive border policies have not and will not work. We must secure the border and we must find better solutions,” Aument said.
CONTACT
Erica Clayton Wright (Ward)
Kate Eckhart Flessner (Pittman)
Jason Thompson (Martin)
Stephanie Applegate (Aument)