Op-Ed: Rep. Juan Ciscomani and Rep. Lisa McClain: House Republicans continue to make communities secure, pass another life-saving border bill
Time and again, cartel members and human smugglers have shown they have no regard for human life. They weave through traffic at breakneck speeds to avoid capture and deliver their illicit contraband. They are chased by law enforcement through neighborhoods and on highways.
The consequences of these high-speed chases are devastating and often end in tragedy.
In 2022, Border Patrol Agent Raul Gonzalez was killed in the line of duty. He was chasing a group of illegal migrants — fleeing by vehicle — who had crossed the border near Mission, Texas.
For years, border communities have experienced the high-speed car chases. Law enforcement personnel, and residents, are constantly at grave risk. Too many families have lost loved ones, too many officers have mourned their fallen comrades, and too many residents live in fear that the next high-speed chase could spill into their community.
Yet, fleeing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) or local law enforcement assisting CBP is not a federal offense.
Law enforcement personnel have been outmatched and undermined by policies that favored leniency over security. That is why, last November, 77 million Americans entrusted Republicans to do the job that Democrats intentionally ignored: securing the border and our communities. That is exactly what we will continue to do.
This Congress, we have already passed several border-related bills out of the U.S. House. Last week, we have another, and it is named after Agent Raul Gonzalez.
H.R. 35, the Agent Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act is the result of close collaboration with local law enforcement officials. It would ensure that their voice is echoed in the halls of Congress.
And more importantly, it could help prevent the next Agent Gonzalez from being killed.
Specifically, it would make failure to yield within 100 miles of the border during a pursuit a federal offense. This would ensure that anyone who deliberately evades law enforcement personnel faces real consequences for their reckless action. If anyone is killed as a result of a chase, the perpetrator would face life in prison without the possibility of parole. And on top of that, those here with no legal status would be deemed inadmissible and subject to deportation.
This legislation is not just about deterrence, but is about sending a clear message to any violent criminal that they will face the full weight and power of the law. The time of allowing bad actors to exploit weak enforcement and escape accountability are over. The days of endangering American lives are over.
The safety of our communities is not a partisan issue, it’s an American issue. Our border communities should be able to live without fear of reckless criminals careening down their street.
Our law enforcement personnel, who already put their lives on the line to keep us safe, deserve to have the tools they need to carry out their critical mission. And it should not be the responsibility of our local county attorneys to prosecute these border crimes — this is a federal issue and must be treated as such. That is one of many reasons why we passed this bill, too.
Last Congress, the House passed H.R. 35 with 215 Republicans and 56 Democrats supporting it. Unfortunately, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) refused to bring this bill for a vote.
This commonsense legislation should have become law sooner, but we are optimistic that with the unified Republican government, we can get it to the president’s desk.
House Republicans passed this bill to prevent further loss of innocent lives and secure our borders. We were excited to see the House pass it again, but are disappointed the bill did not gain more support from Democrats this time.
Making our communities safer and saving law enforcement lives should not be partisan.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani represents Arizona’s 6th District in Congress. Rep. Lisa McClain represents Michigan’s 9th District in Congress, and is the House GOP’s Conference Chair.
