Press Releases
Rep. Bucshon Votes to Prevent Biden Admin from Turning National Parks into Tent Cities for Illegal Immigrants
Washington,
November 30, 2023
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Larry Bucshon, M.D. (R-IN-08) voted to support the Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act (H.R. 5283), which seeks to protect local communities and America’s national parks from the Biden administration’s failures at the southern border by prohibiting taxpayer dollars from being used to house illegal immigrants on federal lands owned by the National Parks Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management. H.R. 5283 also revokes a Department of Interior lease in New York City, which bypassed standard review processes, to house thousands of migrants in an active community park. Dr. Bucshon released the statement below following his vote: “The Biden administration’s failure to secure the southern border has turned every single American community into a border community,” said Dr. Bucshon. “The historic surge of illegal immigration has gotten so out-of-control that Democrats are now using America’s national parks to house illegal immigrants. Instead of implementing common-sense policies to strengthen our border security, the Biden administration is incentivizing illegal immigration, further plunging our southern border into disarray. Passing this legislation is critical to protecting the American people and our national parks—one of America’s best ideas.” BACKGROUND Dr. Bucshon has continually supported common-sense policies that strengthen our border and national security. He has visited the southern border, spoken on the House floor, and met with key stakeholders in order to give law enforcement the tools needed to keep our communities safe and reform our failing immigration system. In May 2023, Dr. Bucshon voted to pass H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, as a meaningful first step to securing our southern border and addressing the national security and humanitarian crisis. H.R. 2 would, in part:
As a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative Bucshon has advocated to stop the flow of fentanyl into the United States via our southern border. He was a leading voice to pass the HALT Fentanyl Act (H.R. 467) ensuring law enforcement has the tools they need to keep extremely lethal and dangerous drugs off American streets. The bill also ensures practitioners can research fentanyl-related substances (FRS) to better understand its overall effects on people’s health. In a hearing this summer on the HALT Fentanyl Act, Representative Bucshon pressed a witness to admit that the southern border is the primary way illicit fentanyl is entering the United States. Illicit fentanyl poisonings are now the number one cause of death among adults 18-49 in the United States, more than cancer, heart disease, and car accidents. If Congress did not pass the HALT Fentanyl Act, and the emergency class-wide scheduling order expired:
In 2022, Dr. Bucshon co-sponsored the Early Migration Alert Program (EMAP) Act (H.R. 7462) which prohibited the Biden administration from terminating Title 42 until at least 60 days after the Covid-19 public health emergency has ended. He also co-sponsored the Transit Notification Act (H.R. 6592) to require the Biden administration to notify state and local officials before placing illegal immigrants in their jurisdiction. Below is a video and photographs from Dr. Bucshon’s visit to the southern border. Congressman Larry Bucshon, M.D. represents Indiana’s 8th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives and is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. ### |