Last week, Republicans on the House Oversight committee heard testimony from two border patrol agents that detailed the continued crisis at our southern border. Securing the border and fixing our broken immigration system should be a priority for all Republicans, and it is time that they take a holistic approach.

Since President Biden took office in January 2021, the United States has experienced a historic surge in illegal immigration, with nearly 3 million illegal aliens having approached our southern border intent on unlawfully entering the nation. In December 2022 alone, Customs and Border Protection had more than 251,000 encounters at the southern border, the largest monthly number recorded in history.

The majority of illegal aliens come from Mexico and Central American states. The Biden administration blames failed governments, rampant corruption along with criminal activity and floundering economic opportunity for the record number of illegal border crossings. Still, this has been the regional status quo for decades. And under the previous presidential administration, illegal border crossings fell to a record low. How could this be?