“It is a moral failing and a national shame when a father and his baby daughter drown seeking our shores. When children are locked away in overcrowded detention centers and the government seeks to keep them there indefinitely.”

That is a direct quote from Joe Biden’s campaign website.  Throughout his campaign, Biden made promises to rollback any immigration reforms made by President Trump because—and here is another quote —“our immigration system is under greater stress as a direct result of Trump’s misguided policies.”

Well, friends, he kept his word, and now, our immigration system is REALLY under stress.

The moment that President Biden took office, we saw a spike in unaccompanied children (UACs) crossing the border. In January alone, 5,707 UACs were apprehended at the Southwest border. That’s 112% higher than last January, and more than double the January average over the last decade. DHS is predicting that 117,000 will cross the U.S. border this year WITHOUT their parents.

You thought that was a lot? That was just children! 75,198 illegal immigrants were apprehended at the Southwest border in January alone—157% higher than last January! This is a clear result of indecisive leadership and mixed messaging that is incentivizing risky behavior by parents and minors.

Biden has reversed many of the commonsense Trump Administration border security policies that kept our country safe. On day one in office, Joe Biden stopped construction of the border wall—after having proudly touted his previous votes for border fences in earlier political campaigns.  Instead of working with Republicans and Democrats in Congress, he has proposed a radical immigration agenda that will only move us closer to open borders, and it is showing results—just not the results America needs.

To make matters worse, just as we are making headway in the fight against COVID-19, more than 100 illegal immigrants released by Border Patrol into Texas since late January have tested positive for the coronavirus following their arrival, and the Biden Administration has no plan to test or quarantine them. Apparently, the goal is to simply register-and-release within 72 hours.

Anyone with eyes can see this is a serious crisis. Where is Biden? Where are the Democrats? Biden and his administration, as well as the media, are refusing even to admit there is a crisis! Of course, in 2014, there was widespread Democrat acknowledgment of the border crisis, when monthly apprehensions were lower than they are now. In 2014, Biden called the situation a “crisis,” then again two years later in 2016, and again in 2019.

So really, where is President Biden? Still in his basement? He has been in office for 50 days, and he has yet to hold a single press conference. This is far from the transparent administration he promised.

America is facing a serious crisis at our southern border, and Americans deserve leadership—not a radical immigration policy that aims to appease far-left special interest groups instead of keeping our nation healthy and safe. We need to reinstate President Trump's border security policies NOW.

Democrats brought two gun-grabbing bills to the floor this week—“The Bipartisan Background Check Act of 2021” and the “Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021".

H.R. 8, “The Bipartisan Background Check Act of 2021,” is a precursor to a national gun registry. This bill would require universal background checks for firearm sales or transfers, with very few exceptions. The legislation aims to make it unlawful for any person that isn’t a licensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer, to transfer a firearm to a person unless the firearm first passes through a licensed entity (importer, manufacturer, or dealer), thus criminalizing most forms of private firearms transfer. All firearms sales or transfers would require a licensed entity to run a Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NICS) background check on the person seeking to purchase or receive a firearm. Background checks can only be conducted by licensed dealers, importers, or manufacturers, who have the ability to charge high fees and even decline to run the background check. Not only does this bill prohibit licensed entities from transferring a firearm to another person who is not licensed unless the licensed entity, H.R. 8 would exempt transfers between certain immediate family members from the background check requirement, but only if the transfer is a “bona fide gift.” This means that the transfer must be permanent and not in exchange for anything of value. This bill treats common low-risk and temporary transfers as felonies in the absence of a background check, it is highly likely that otherwise law-abiding individuals would unknowingly fail to conduct a background check and could become felons.

To make matters worse, in order to enforce the provisions in the bill, the creation of an invasive and expensive national gun registry would be necessary. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this legislation would cost $45,000,000 over five years.

H.R. 1446, the “Enhanced Background Checks Act of 2021,” increases the amount of time, from 3 business days to a minimum of 10 business days, that a federal firearms licensee must wait to receive a completed background check prior to transferring a firearm to an unlicensed person. This legislation creates arbitrary delays on background checks that will infringe upon millions of Americans’ Second Amendment right to defend themselves and their families.

The 3-business day period provides crucial protection for the right to keep and bear arms provided by the Second Amendment. Waiting periods are ineffective barriers to law-abiding citizens’ ability to exercise their Constitutional right to purchase firearms, and there is no evidence that imposing waiting periods on law-abiding citizens will have any impact on the criminal misuse of firearms. A Department of Justice survey found the overwhelming majority of criminals obtain firearms through theft or the black market. Data from the FBI show only a very small number of firearms are transferred after three business days without a concluded check.

This legislation also requires the Attorney General to coordinate with the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms to submit to Congress a report on the effects of this act on victims of domestic violence and whether further expansion of background check requirements would lead to a reduction of violence to victims of domestic violence. Yet, the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms is not a federal entity; rather, it is an arm of the Giffords Law Center, a Bloomberg-funded gun control group. By requiring the AG to consult with a private political entity whose stated goal is more gun control, the bill essentially guarantees that the study would find more Second Amendment restrictions in order.

Neither of these two bills will reduce gun violence in America.  We don’t make anyone safer by imposing significant and unnecessary burdens on the exercise of fundamental constitutional rights, especially when the burdens don’t address the ways that criminals abuse those rights.

Newsflash: Criminals do not follow the law in acquiring firearms, and nothing in either bill would stop them from continuing to obtain firearms through the black market or illegal straw purchases.

Additionally, federal law already strictly prohibits the possession, receipt, or purchase of firearms by prohibited individuals, including convicted felons, fugitives from justice, unlawful users of controlled substances, illegal immigrants, and individuals subject to protective orders or convicted of a crime of domestic violence.

I will never vote to violate your constitutional rights.  I voted NO.

Our vaccine manufacturers—Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson—have made significant strides in increasing their output, so vaccine supplies to Texas-14 continue to increase. Be sure to sign up for your local health department’s waitlist so they can contact you when it’s your turn for an appointment. Vaccines are currently available to those 65 years old and above, or to those with certain qualifying health conditions, as well as to health care workers, child care workers, and school personnel.  Beginning March 15, Texas will be opening up vaccine eligibility for those 50 and up. For details, visit https://dshs.texas.gov/coronavirus/immunize/vaccine.aspx.

Waitlists serving each of our counties are now open. In Jefferson County, register through this link (vaccine.beaumonttexas.gov) or by calling 409-980-8311.  Beaumont residents may also call 311 for help registering.

In Galveston County, UTMB and the Galveston County Health Department have partnered to create a waitlist at https://www.utmb.edu/covid-19/vaccine or by calling (877) 389-2318.

In Brazoria County, residents are eligible for UTMB’s waitlist and may receive an appointment through either the UTMB Angleton Danbury location or the Galveston County vaccination locations. Visit https://www.utmb.edu/covid-19/vaccine or call (877) 389-2318 to register for the waitlist.

Additionally, the federal government is distributing vaccines directly through large retail pharmacy chains, including HEB, Walgreens, Walmart, and CVS. Visit their websites to check for availability.

To get up-to-date information and resources on COVID-19 and vaccine distribution, click here.

I joined my fellow House Freedom Caucus to discuss the

crisis at our southern border. Click below to watch. 

It is a great honor to represent Texas’ Fourteenth District in Congress.  We all know that 2020 has brought some challenging times.  Please know that we have been and will always be here for you.  Call or stop by our offices (which are YOUR offices), if you need help with a federal agency.  Bureaucracy often brings red tape, but we know how to cut through it, and we are proud to fight on your behalf.  Whether you need help with immigration, IRS, Medicare, Social Security, passports, stimulus checks, small business loans, VA claims, FEMA relief, or other assistance, please call us!  We can also help with flags flown over the U.S. Capitol, nominations to the military academies, or tours in Washington D.C.  We welcome opportunities to serve you.  For assistance or more information, please call or go online to www.weber.house.gov.

God Bless you and God Bless Texas!