Biggs leads oversight on northern border amid staffing shortages in ports

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), the co-chairman of the Home Border Safety caucus, despatched a letter to Secretary of Homeland Safety Alejandro Mayorkas relating to stories of "unattended" ports of entry on the northern border with Canada.

Biggs questioned Mayorkas and the U.S. Customs and Border Safety Senior Official performing the duties of CBP Commissioner Troy Miller on stories that CPB officers are being instructed to increase the working hours of northern ports of entry to as much as 24 hours, even with out adequate brokers to protect them.

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"We're involved with latest stories from involved residents and members of the general public that ports of entry (POEs) alongside america’ border with Canada are being left open and unattended for prolonged intervals of time," Biggs mentioned within the letter on Tuesday, which was co-signed by Reps. Matt Rosendale (R-MT), and Tom Tiffany (R-WI).

"This info accompanies publicly obtainable reporting on will increase in unlawful border crossings alongside the Northern border, together with by overseas nationals from nations in Asia and the Center East," the letter added.

Andrew Harnik/AP

The letter comes on the identical day CBP revealed the most recent report on unlawful border crossings. In accordance with the report, 170,284 folks have been arrested by Border Patrol brokers for getting into illegally in Might, however simply 140 have been arrested on the Canadian border. There have been over 98,000 migrant encounters on the northern border in fiscal 2023.

Although the numbers are decrease than the encounters seen on the southern border with Mexico, the 2023 encounters are a rise from the 27,000 encountered on the northern border in fiscal 2020.

“People should know why their borders should not being secured,” Biggs mentioned in an announcement shared with the Washington Examiner. 

“Now that the Biden administration has dismantled our southern border safety," he continued. "They've moved to dismantle our northern border safety. It’s unconscionable to listen to that the Biden administration would authorize inadequately supervised and even fully unmanned ports of entries. The American folks deserve to grasp the extent of this downside."

Biggs additionally requested info on the hours of operation for the ports, details about staffing ranges for the ports, and paperwork and supplies issued on opening hours of ports of entry on the northern border.

The congressmen gave Mayorkas till July 10 to reply to the inquiry.