WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Mike Bost (IL-12) voted for the “Secure the Border Act of 2023” Thursday, the same day President Biden ended Title 42 rules that expedite the return of migrants apprehended crossing the border illegally. The legislation requires the president finish the southern border wall, hire more Border Patrol agents, and end catch and release.

“We can’t have national security without border security, and Biden’s bumbling has weakened both.” said Bost. “The president’s decision to end Title 42 is going take a crisis and make it a catastrophe. I recently visited the southern border and spoke with military veterans now serving on Border Patrol. Let me tell you, they are overworked and undermanned. They desperately want to know their representatives will back them up with the tools they need to do their jobs. That’s why I am proud to vote to finish the wall, hire more border agents and pay them better, and make our communities safer once and for all.” 

More than five million illegal border crossings have occurred during Biden’s presidency, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Bost visited the southern border last month at Laredo and Eagle Pass, Texas, to see the latest developments in the crisis firsthand.