Dear Friend, Tomorrow afternoon, Title 42 authorities - which U.S. Customs and Border Protection has successfully used for years to expel millions of illegal immigrants from the United States – are set to expire. Thousands of migrants are now holding on the Mexican side of the southern border – counting the hours until Title 42 expires and preparing to cross into the United States illegally. Without decisive action by the Biden Administration to begin enforcing the rule of law, this Nation’s sovereignty and our national security will be further compromised.   And, those valiant law enforcement officers at the border will once again be pushed to their limits. In response to the growing border crisis, House Republicans are bringing H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023, to the Floor of the House of Representatives for a vote. I am one of only eight original co-sponsors of this bill and the only freshman Congressman serving as an original co-sponsor.  This comprehensive effort includes my original bill—the Visa Overstays Penalties Act, which will work to prevent visitors from overstaying their visas once in America (like the 9/11 hijackers did). The immigration crisis isn’t just confined to communities on the southern border. Thousands of illegal immigrants who currently live in the United States originally entered legally, but later overstayed their visa. To address this issue, I introduced the Visa Overstays Penalties Act to reclassify the act of overstaying a visa as an “illegal entry” – increasing both civil and criminal penalties. The Secure the Border Act of 2023, a culmination of the work of three House Committees (Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, and Homeland Security), will work toward securing our nation by restarting construction of the border wall, reforming the broken asylum system, streamlining the processing of immigrants, combatting human traffickers who prey on children and the vulnerable, eliminating economic incentives for illegal immigration, and increasing the number of Border Patrol agents at the border. All in all, this represents the most comprehensive border security and immigration reform effort taken up by the House of Representatives in decades. As the Biden Administration is set to lift Title 42, decisive legislation like this is needed to combat the inevitable influx of illegal immigrants that are waiting to cross our borders. To discuss these efforts further, I recently joined Tony Perkins on Washington Watch. To here the full conversation, click HERE or on the video below.