Garland urged to probe impact of border crisis on law enforcement

EXCLUSIVE — Attorney General Merrick Garland could be forced to conduct a report on how the surge of illegal immigration at the southern border is affecting law enforcement officials at the federal, state, and local levels under a new bill being introduced this week.

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) introduced the Police Our Border Act of 2024 on Monday which would require Garland to submit a report to Congress detailing the effects the border crisis has had on law enforcement, according to a copy of the bill first obtained by the Washington Examiner. The bill is expected to be considered by the House Judiciary Committee this week and will be brought to the floor for consideration during National Police Week next month.

“Thanks to the open border policies of President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas, law enforcement agencies across the country are being overwhelmed by the millions of migrants and large quantities of dangerous narcotics like fentanyl flowing into the United States,” said D’Esposito, a retired detective with the New York Police Department.

Under the legislation, Garland would be required to include specific information in his report, including the estimated cost of all resources used to address the influx of illegal immigrants coming into the country as well as “the extent to which such resources are not available to law enforcement agencies.”

The report must also include information on how much exposure law enforcement officers have to fentanyl while encountering illegal immigrants crossing the southern border as well as any injuries sustained while on the line of duty. The bill would also require a section that details the morale of law enforcement officers.

“The Police Our Border Act will create a mechanism to quantify just how debilitating the Biden border crisis has been to law enforcement professionals, and ensure this failing administration is held accountable for the chaos it has caused around our nation,” D’Esposito said. “I have worn the badge of an NYPD Detective, and I will not allow my brothers and sisters in blue to suffer.”

If passed, the bill would require Garland to submit the report to Congress within 180 days, or roughly six months, of its approval.

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The legislation comes as lawmakers continue to focus their efforts on stemming the rise of illegal immigration at the southern border, which has become a hot-button topic on Capitol Hill and a major point of contention in the 2024 election cycle.

Lawmakers have wrestled for months with how to address the surge of illegal immigration but have ultimately been unable to pass legislation that has substantial support in both the Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate. Earlier this month, the House rejected a revised version of its signature border bill, offered by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), that would have given U.S. border authorities additional tools to clamp down on illegal immigration.