The world today is a more dangerous place than it was three years ago. This didn’t happen overnight or by accident – our crisis in security is a man-made problem, and those men are in the White House.
America’s enemies are emboldened on the international stage – whether they be in the Pacific or the Middle East – because of the current administration’s strategy of appeasement.
Our allies won’t trust us, and our enemies won’t respect us, until the president recognizes that appeasement leads to more conflict, not less.
But this crisis in security exists right here at home as well. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice are largely responsible for upholding our rule of law, and I recently questioned the men who lead our nation’s law enforcement agencies.
These pages (Signal Editorial, April 13) note that last week I was very direct with FBI Director Christopher Wray: I don’t trust him. And I don’t believe anyone who looks at the body of evidence under his leadership could feel any different.
Director Wray has failed to stop demonstrable politicization within his agency, and he’s outright failed to address America’s greatest national security threat: The southern border.
He didn’t even mention the unprecedented border crisis in his 1,500-word assessment of America’s “Top Terrorism Threats” during our hearing. This is despite the 7.5 million individuals who crossed our border illegally, including 350 encounters with members of the terror watchlist and a spike of 7,000% in illegal crossings of Chinese nationals.
The FBI’s mission statement is “to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution.” He has clearly failed in that sacred mission.
This week, I was equally direct with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
His agency’s stated mission is “to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights.”
I asked the attorney general to grade his performance relative to that mission, and he gave himself an A.
I’d give him an F.
It’s a crime to illegally cross America’s borders, and more than 7.5 million people have gone unprosecuted for committing that crime.
Mr. Garland touted a 20% reduction from the record-high homicide rates earlier in his tenure, but that’s the equivalent of an arsonist taking credit for putting out his own fire.
The attorney general also chose to leave out of his report the tens of thousands of Americans being murdered by drug traffickers through fentanyl poisonings. Clearly, Mr. Garland is failing to uphold his agency’s all-important mission.
There’s an undeniable crisis of security in our nation. Director Wray and AG Garland both expressed to me their understanding of the issues at hand, but their actions – or lack thereof – say otherwise.
My final message to both men was that, at the very least, they’re failing to communicate the severity of this crisis to their boss, the president.
There’s nothing partisan about this issue – every American values the security of their family, community, and country, and I believe that security should take precedent over any blind party allegiance.
It’s my absolute priority to ensure your economic, neighborhood, border and national security. You have my word that I’ll continue doing everything in my power to introduce common-sense bills, work across the aisle, and end this needless crisis of security.
Rep. Mike Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, represents the 27th Congressional District, which includes the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys. “Right Here, Right Now” appears Saturdays and rotates among local Republicans.
Original Article HERE.
