Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) today issued the following statement on President Biden’s reported plan to send some of the tens of thousands of economic migrants who have recently arrived in New York City to Atlantic City International Airport:

            “President Biden’s plan to relocate economic migrants to Atlantic City International Airport and allow this growing crisis to spiral out of control by failing to secure our border is absolutely unconscionable.

            Biden’s disastrous open-border policies and failure to secure our southern border have seriously jeopardized our national security and the safety of American citizens.

            New York’s failed sanctuary city policies—especially and including its refusal to cooperate with law enforcement officials—have led to a humanitarian disaster with hundreds left to sleep on the streets as emergency shelters run out of space to accommodate the more than 100,000 migrants who have arrived in the city in the past year alone.

            The massive influx of migrants coming into the United States illegally is not only unsustainable—as evident by New York City’s emergency housing shortage and the overwhelming mounting costs it now faces—but also seriously endangers women and children, who are especially vulnerable to sex and labor trafficking, and enables the smuggling of deadly drugs like Chinese-made fentanyl into our country.

            Shockingly, detailed information on the vetting and processing procedures of migrants apprehended by Border Patrol—including whether these migrants are released into or removed from the United States—is seriously lacking.

            Just this week, alarming new reports emerged that a smuggler with ties to ISIS helped more than a dozen migrants cross the southern border earlier this year. This disturbing incident—and the record number of encounters with individuals on the FBI’s terror watchlist along our southern border—reveal the serious threats we face because of the Biden Administration’s policies.

            At a congressional hearing I chaired in May, I asked the Biden Administration’s top official tasked with combating human trafficking whether migrants were being screened for trafficking at our southern border. She did not answer my question, and deferring to her colleagues, said ‘certainly it’s the perfect time to be asking the question.’ That is unacceptable.

            Since 2021, the Biden Administration has lost contact with approximately 85,000 unaccompanied migrant children who were released from federal government custody. In the coming weeks, I will be introducing legislation—drafted in collaboration with Eduardo Verastegui, the producer of ‘Sound of Freedom,’ and Roger Severino of The Heritage Foundation—to require the federal government to report on efforts to locate, establish contact with, conduct wellness checks on, and investigate any suspicion of human trafficking related to these minors.

            While our Nation continues its longstanding tradition of welcoming those in search of a better life for them and their families, it is critical that our immigration policies do not jeopardize Americans’ safety.”

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