WASHINGTON — Today, Representative Ronny Jackson (TX-13) introduced the Border Czar Accountability Act of 2022, which will force “Border Czar” Kamala Harris to do her job and visit our southern border rather than dismiss and ignore the worst border crisis in American history.

The Border Czar Accountability Act will require any Cabinet member appointed by the President to lead efforts related to immigration or securing the U.S.-Mexico Border to visit the border every 60 days. It also requires the Cabinet Member(s) to submit a report to the President and Congress no later than 15 days after each visit, explaining their findings and outlining solutions for improving the security and situation at the southern border. If the report is not submitted, then no federal funds will be given or expended to immigration efforts led by that Cabinet Member.

Jackson is a member of the Border Security Caucus. Additional background from The Daily Caller can be found here, and bill text can be found here.

Jackson told Henry Rodgers of The Daily Caller: “Biden’s push for open border policies and amnesty for all illegal immigrants has created and continues to bolster the worst border crisis in history. The current situation at our southern border is a public health crisis, a haven for criminal activity, and a threat to our national security. Despite alarming data coming in from the border, President Biden’s Senior Cabinet Member and so-called “Border Czar” Kamala Harris has wholly dismissed and ignored her responsibility to address and solve this crisis. President Biden appointed Vice President Kamala Harris as Border Czar 318 days ago, and she only visited the southern border once for a short photo op, far away from where the crisis is taking place, and only after receiving pressure from my Republican colleagues and me. Her visit proved to be nothing more than a failed attempt to quiet her critics. However, within the same 318 days, Border Czar Harris has found time to waste our taxpayer money on uneventful foreign trips to Northern Triangle countries.

The American people deserve better, and the leaders in charge of these issues need to be held accountable for their blatant failures. My bill would not allow Vice President Harris or any Cabinet Member the ability to dismiss or ignore their duties. Border Security is National Security, and the Biden Administration’s open border agenda has left American citizens exposed to serious national security threats like drugs, potential terrorists, human trafficking, and a litany of other dangers. I urge my colleagues to join in support of the Border Czar Accountability Act of 2022. It is time for the Biden Administration to wake up and fix this massive and avoidable crisis.”

House Border Security Caucus Co-Chairman Brian Babin (TX-36) said: “If Vice President Harris is to remain President Biden’s ‘Border Czar,’ it’s past time she start acting like it. Rep. Jackson’s bill will hold Harris accountable and force her to visit the southern border to see firsthand the catastrophe she has helped create.”

Rep. Rodney Davis (IL-13) said: “Under President Trump’s leadership, we would have never seen the crisis we’re currently seeing at the border. President Biden must face the reality of this dire illegal immigration crisis he created with his open border policies and rhetoric. I’m proud to introduce this bill with Rep. Ronny Jackson - to ensure that the White House ‘Border Czar,’ currently held by Vice President Harris, is more than just for show, to hold the administration accountable in stopping this surge that is straining our law enforcement, and to immediately secure our border.”

Rep. Mike Carey (OH-15) said: “The crisis on our southern border has expanded into communities across the country as Kamala Harris remains missing in action. If President Biden can’t get his ‘Border Czar’ to do her job, despite record border apprehensions and a 1,000 percent increase in fentanyl seizures, Congress should. I am proud to join Congressman Ronny Jackson and my colleagues in introducing the Border Czar Accountability Act – it is past time for the Biden Administration to get serious about this crisis.”

Rep. Scott DesJarlais (TN-04) said: “Vice President Kamala Harris was appointed to serve as border czar 317 days ago and has yet to step foot inside a detention facility. Harris has laughed off her lack of response and put the safety of Americans at risk. It’s time she’s held accountable.”

Original cosponsors include Representatives Brian Babin (TX-36), Mike Carey (OH-15), Scott DesJarlais (TN-04), Randy K. Weber (TX-14), John Curtis (UT-03), Rodney Davis (IL-13), Steven Palazzo (MS-04), and Byron Donalds (FL-19).

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