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Let me be clear: Like most of you, I support legal, lawful immigration. We value those who seek our nation in pursuit of their dreams. Separately, we want to protect others who have nowhere else to turn in the face of persecution.

While most immigrants obviously come to the United States with goodwill, the crime and drug statistics related to illegal immigration are staggering. Human trafficking has risen dramatically in recent years. Hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of deadly narcotics are seized on the border each year by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has arrested more than 300,000 illegal immigrants in the last two years, including:

• More than 3,900 on murder charges;
• More than 27,000 on sex-related crimes, including rape;
• More than 99,000 on assault charges; and
• More than 161,000 on criminal traffic charges such as DUI.

We have a right to know who comes into our nation from the outside and an obligation to ensure those individuals are here lawfully and do not pose a risk. That process begins by asserting control over our own border.

Opponents claim, “Walls and barriers don’t work.” That is an illogical argument and is immediately debunked by simply looking at apprehensions of illegal immigrants along the southern border where fencing and walls have already been constructed:

• San Diego, Calif., (built in 1992): apprehensions down 92 percent;
• El Paso, Texas, (built in 1993): down 72 percent;
• Tucson, Ariz., (built in 2000): down 90 percent; and
• Yuma, Ariz., (built in 2005): down 95 percent.

Separately, our nation generously extends asylum protection to refugees who cannot return to their home country due to a “credible or reasonable fear.” Regrettably, there are many immigrants who abuse our asylum laws simply to enter our country. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the number of asylum-seekers has skyrocketed from roughly 5,000 in 2009 to about 100,000 in 2018. That’s a 1,750 percent increase.

Combine that with recent news of civil unrest in Central and South America along with migrant caravans approaching our southern border, and it’s clear that claims of asylum need to be processed fairly and efficiently. However, it is reasonable to expect that those individuals will follow our procedures for requesting asylum, and it is also reasonable to expect they not cross our borders illegally.

Congress has a real opportunity to come together and address the challenges at our border. We do this by implementing sound policies that discourage illegal immigration such as ending catch-and-release, ending chain migration, and building a wall.

At what point do politicians agree that we need change and that we need it now? I am absolutely dismayed that the sovereignty of our nation has become the subject of political theater.

This is a fight for our country, and this is a fight I am willing to keep up as long as I am in Washington.

Ralph Norman, a Republican, represents the 5th District of South Carolina. You can follow him on Twitter: @RepRalphNorman.