A United States senator is hammering President Joe Biden for shutting down commercial ports along the U.S. border with Mexico, allegedly costing American farmers, ranchers and truckers $250 million a day.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, introduced the “Keeping International Land Ports of Entry Open Act” in response to Biden's order to close commercial ports of entry and allegedly reassign Border Patrol staff from facilitating lawful commerce.
“The Biden administration closed four border ports of entry in December, including 2 key railroad bridges in El Paso and Eagle Pass,” Cruz's office reported.
“These closures gave the appearance that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was assisting Border Patrol,” Cruz's office said. “However, the CBP's monthly update admitted that the agents were used to ‘quickly process individuals encountered.'” The statement continued.
“This decision shut down approximately $250 million in commerce per day. The agricultural sector suffered in particular from rippling effects across the network since Mexico is a large market for grain exports, with $28.5 billion in sales in 2022,” Cruz's office noted.
The statement described the enforcement mechanism's within the Keeping International Land Ports of Entry Open Act:
The bill includes a built-in accountability mechanism and requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to notify the House, Senate, and the American people what exception applies if he seeks to relocate staff and close a port of entry.
Cruz was joined by Sens. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) in introducing the bill.
The bill has wide support from conservatives and advocates for trucking and agriculture.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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