Lindsey Graham: We are playing Russian roulette with national security if our broken border isn't job one

There are old threats, new threats and growing threats to America that need to be addressed as soon as possible. We are playing Russian roulette with our national security if we delay securing our broken border. 

More than 200 Americans die every day due to fentanyl overdoses. That is the equivalent of another September 11 attack nearly every two weeks because of the illicit drugs that are coming across our border. Every week we delay is a death sentence for thousands of Americans. 

The shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan energized terrorist organizations around the globe. Now with the turmoil in Syria, the jihadist groups threatening America are growing in capability and numbers. While the recent collapse of the Assad regime in Syria was a big loss for Russia and Iran, the chaos it brings to the region can present a direct threat to the United States. 

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First, the radical group that toppled the Assad regime has been associated with Al Qaeda in the past and its leader is a former detainee who was captured on the battlefield in Iraq and was also associated with Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, the founder of ISIS. 

Migrants walk along the highway through Suchiate, Chiapas state in southern Mexico, Sunday, July 21, 2024, during their journey north toward the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente)

Second, Turkey views the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a primarily Kurdish force that is guarding more than 50,000 ISIS prisoners, as a terrorist entity. These Kurdish forces helped the United States destroy the ISIS Caliphate and if they are compromised, there could be an ISIS prisoner jailbreak. 

That would be a nightmare for America and the rest of the world. 

In case anyone forgot, ISIS is responsible for and inspired some of the worst terrorist attacks the world has ever seen. On November 13, 2015, Paris, France was attacked in multiple locations, including the Bataclan Theater, resulting in the death of 130 people. In 2016, 49 Americans were killed at a nightclub in Florida in an ISIS-inspired shooting. The next year, 22 people were killed in Manchester, UK, at a concert arena. 

Now imagine a perfect storm. 

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The cartels are in the business of bringing people to America, and they will take anyone’s money – including terrorists. The terrorist groups that are taking over Syria – most of whom wish to eliminate the United States – are now in a new position of power. If any one of these terrorists, ISIS or otherwise, want to infiltrate our country, it would simply require paying a money-hungry cartel. 

Over the past four years, there have been 1.7 million encounters on the southern border with illegal immigrants from "special interest countries" – countries that DHS has determined pose the greatest national security and counterintelligence threats to the U.S. – and 687 encounters with immigrants on the terror watch list. If our border crisis is allowed to remain, any number of terrorists could make their way into America and we would be none the wiser. 

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It is imperative that we ratchet up our national security. The way to do this is by securing our broken border, increasing the number of ICE agents to deport criminals and gang members, increasing the number of bed spaces in detention centers so we don’t have to release illegal immigrants into the United States, finish building the wall, and employing technology that will give us 24/7 situational awareness at the border. 

President-elect Donald Trump ran on securing the border and making America safer and more prosperous. The centerpiece of his campaign was repairing the damage done by the Biden administration and doing it quickly. 

The shameful withdrawal from Afghanistan energized terrorist organizations around the globe. Now with the turmoil in Syria, the jihadist groups threatening America are growing in capability and numbers. While the recent collapse of the Assad regime in Syria was a big loss for Russia and Iran, the chaos it brings to the region can present a direct threat to the United States.?

I will be the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee in the new Congress. Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune and I have been working closely with Trump’s team to hit the ground running to make sure we have a transformational border security bill passed through the budget reconciliation process and on Trump’s desk as soon as possible in the new year. 

I strongly believe that we should not let the Trump tax cuts expire. We should also find ways to accomplish regulatory reform and spending cuts to address the deficit. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and other stakeholders will be valuable resources for the committee when it comes time to reduce spending and lock in the tax cuts. 

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But the top priority for the Senate Budget Committee – and the Trump administration – is to secure our southern border and help the Department of Defense combat growing threats before it’s too late. I urge every member of the House and the Senate to receive an intelligence briefing about the threats coming our way. 

We are living on borrowed time given the threats that are growing throughout the world. If we fail to secure our broken borders at this time of great peril, the United States will likely be victim to a national security catastrophe. 

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