On June 17th, President Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, reported that border patrol encountered just 95 illegal immigrants attempting to cross the entire southern border. That is the lowest number of encounters in 24 hours ever reported. Under the Biden administration, crossings were over 10,000 each day. Mr. Homan went on to report that in the month of May, zero apprehended illegal immigrants were released from custody.

President Trump’s national security priorities are necessary now more than ever. On June 29th, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the arrest of two individuals in Los Angeles, California with strong ties to an Iranian human smuggling network. These suspects allegedly used their residency in our nation to traffic illegal immigrants with links to terrorist threats. The Assistant Commissioner of CBP explicitly noted that the individuals trafficked into the U.S. pose direct threats to our national security.

Finger-pointing for this mess can be leveled directly at the Biden administration and its open border policies. Recently, the nation of Iran has called for attacks on the United States and has even directed threats towards President Trump and other federal officials. With the recent arrests in Los Angeles, it is clear that our adversaries understood just how porous our borders truly were under Biden.

Fortunately, President Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” bolsters our border security operations to ensure that these national security threats are neutralized. Numerous provisions allocate funding for improved surveillance tech, the border wall, and expanding CBP personnel and facilities.

Building the wall–a project from President Trump’s first term–has incredible support from the American people. The “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” allocates an additional $46.5 billion for continued construction of the wall as well as upgrades and repairs to the existing stretches and barriers.

With President Trump and his border czar, Tom Homan, increasing the operating tempo of CBP, there is an increased need for more agents and more facilities. The “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” provides over $4 billion to recruit, hire, and train approximately 10,000 new ICE agents, 5,000 new customs officers, and 3,000 new border patrol agents. An additional $2.7 billion is included to enhance border surveillance systems and $5 billion to upgrade existing CBP facilities across the nation.

When President Trump issued the proclamation declaring a national emergency at our southern border on January 20th, 2025, our adversaries were watching. I have no doubt that our efforts to secure our border and protect our communities are some of the most important items of President

Trump’s legislative agenda. I will continue to work with the President to bolster our border security, fund our brave CBP officers and border patrol agents, and keep foreign adversaries–like Iran and China–from attacking and undermining the American way of life.

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Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull, represents Iowa’s Fourth District in the U.S. House.