The 21 Series: Intel Chiefs: No Mention of Crisis at the Southern Border

(2/0/1/2019 emailed 21 Republican Senators up for re-election in 2020)

On Tuesday U.S. intelligence chiefs told Congress that North Korea is unlikely to dismantle its nuclear arsenal, that ISIS remains a threat and that the Iran nuclear deal is working. They did not mention the crisis at the U.S.-Mexican border for which Trump has considered declaring a national emergency.

Given the lack of crisis at the southern border, the Democrats’ plan to substantially beef up security and infrastructure at ports of entry, as well as provide modernized resources to agents patrolling the border on land and in U.S. waters is well founded.

The proposal includes:

• 1,000 new US Customs officers.
• New imaging technology at land ports of entry to scan for drugs, weapons, and contraband.
• Increased resources and technology at mail-processing facilities to intercept opioids and fentanyl.
• Increased technology on the border “to improve situational awareness.”
• Expansion of Air and Marine Operations on the border and in US waters for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
• Repair projects at ports of entry.
• Expansion of risk-based targeting of passengers and cargo entering the US.
• Bolstering CBP’s resources in handling detained migrants apprehended at the border.

This is your opportunity to step up and work with Democrats to genuinely strengthen border security. There cannot be one penny spent on Trump’s racist authoritarian wall. Good decent Democrats, Independents and principled Republicans are watching you and all Republicans in the Senate. If you do not work with the Democrats on this issue and chose to close the government down on Feb 15th, they will vote all of you out in 2020. Of that you can be certain.