Joyce Votes To Back President Trump’s Effort To Secure Southern Border

Congressman John Joyce (PA-13), a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, today issued the following statement after opposing H.J. Res 46, a measure that disapproves of President Trump's emergency declaration to secure the southern border:

"Two facts are abundantly clear we have a crisis at our southern border and the President has the legal authority to declare a national emergency to address it.

"In recent years, the number of large migrant groups crossing the southern border has skyrocketed and since 2012 our U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have seized more than 11 million pounds of drugs between ports of entry. The best way to combat these developments, as evidenced by the successes we have seen in places like El Paso, Tucson and Yuma, is to allocate adequate funding for physical barriers in the places where we need them.

"While I vigorously advocated for Congress to use its legislative authority to properly secure our border, Democrats had no interest in making a good faith attempt to do so and the President was right to take the action their partisan games forced upon him.

"Presidents of both parties have contributed to the 31 national emergencies currently in place, many of them addressing concerns far less important than combating our drug crisis and protecting our sovereignty, which is why I stand firmly behind President Trump in his effort to keep Americans safe and secure the border."

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