Van Zandt County in northeast Texas is the 18th county to declare an invasion at the southern border.
Its county commissioners and Judge Don Kirkpatrick signed a resolution expressing support for Gov. Greg Abbott “to take necessary action to stop the chaos on our border.”
The resolution states that “the health, safety, and welfare of Texas residents are under an imminent threat from the unprecedented levels of illegal immigration, human trafficking, and drug smuggling coming across the U.S. border from Mexico.”
It states that since January 2021, “more than 3.2 million illegal aliens have been apprehended after unlawfully entering the United States, and more than 800,000 illegal aliens have avoided apprehension while unlawfully entering the United States and are unaccounted for in our nation.”
It also points to more than 50 known terrorists who’ve unlawfully entered the U.S. since President Joe Biden’s been in office and the unprecedented number of people and amount of drugs being trafficked into the U.S. as a result of his policies.
According to Aug. 15 U.S. Customs and Border Protection data, more than 80 terrorists on the Terrorist Watchlist have been encountered along the southern border since Biden took office.
During fiscal 2022 through July, 66 individuals on the watchlist were encountered, all non-U.S. citizens, more than fiscal years 2017-2021 combined.
“The sophisticated human trafficking and drug smuggling organizations that facilitate these criminal acts are spearheaded by international drug cartels who, at times, have operational control over the southern border,” the resolution states. “They not only threaten our citizens, but the citizens of various nations from which the trafficked victims originate.”
