Senator Ernst.
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is calling for a bipartisan effort to address issues of border security.
The Biden administration says there is a big problem at the southern border, but Ernst says it has gotten well beyond that stage. “This is not just a big problem. This is a crisis at the border,” Ernst says.
Ernst is the top Republican on the Emerging Threats Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “The number of unaccompanied minors has tripled at the border over the past two weeks,” Ernst says. “And not only is it a heartbreaking humanitarian issue — but after wearing the uniform of our nation for over 23 years — I see this as a national security issue.”
Ernst says a number of her Senate Democrat colleagues acknowledge there is a crisis at the border. Ernst says the issues at the border don’t just involve those from Latin America and Mexico.
“We have trans-national criminal organizations that are exploiting our situation at the border. Engaging in nefarious activities. Whether it is Chinese money laundering, whether it is human trafficking — you name it — exploiting our open border,” according to Ernst. Ernst says the U.S. needs to take action.
“We cannot allow trans-national criminal organizations, as well as our adversaries, to exploit these conditions any longer,” Ernst says.
Ernst says testimony before the committee from the commander of the U.S. Southern Command confirms the problems going on at the border. She says it is time to work together to solve the crisis.