Miss. Senators cosponsor resolution calling on White House to work with Congress to tackle crime, border crisis.
On Monday, U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) joined colleagues to introduce a resolution calling on the White House to work with Congress to develop a plan to combat the rise in violent crime across the United States and address the crisis at the southern border.
“Rising violent crime poses a threat to the safety & security of individuals, communities, businesses, & law enforcement officers. Action must be taken,” Senator Hyde-Smith said on Twitter.
The resolution cited the record-setting rise in violent crime across the nation as well as provided data and information, including:
- 59 percent increase in murders of police officers in 2021.
- As of April 1, 2022, 101 police officers had been shot this year, 17 of whom were killed by gunfire.
- At least 16 cities in the United States set murder records in 2021.
- Organized retail crime threats in 2020 cost retailers an average of $720,000 for every $1,000,000,000 in sales, and 69 percent of retailers surveyed in 2021 had seen an increase in organized retail crime in 2021.
- In December 2021, 178,840 illegal immigrants were apprehended attempting to cross the United States-Mexico border, the highest total for December in the history of the Department of Homeland Security, and a 142 percent increase from December 2020.
- More than 2,500,000 illegal immigrants have been caught attempting to cross the United States-Mexico border since January 2021, with more apprehended in the 3-month period from November 2021 through January 2022 than in all of fiscal year 2020.
- 61 pounds of fentanyl were seized at the southern border in December 2021 alone.
The resolution stated that the President should work with Congress to develop and execute a strategy, drawing on the multiple instruments of power and resources of the United States:
- To counter the rise in violent crime across the country by reinforcing strong criminal justice policies, by laying blame on the perpetrators of violent acts, and by securing the southern border.
- To coordinate with Federal, State, and local agencies and authorities to implement the strategy and exhort all those agencies and authorities to strengthen their approaches to combat the violent crime epidemic within the country.
The resolution was led by U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA).
“If there was ever a time that the American people want to know that the president and Congress are working together to defeat the scourge of crime, the time is now. This resolution is to send the message that combating crime is what we are focused on,” Cassidy said in a press release.
In addition to Wicker and Hyde-Smith, cosponsors include Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Barrasso (R-WY), Martha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), John Cornyn (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Steve Daines (R-MT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), John Hoeven (R-ND), Ron Johnson (R-WI), James Lankford (R-OK), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Rob Portman (R-OH), Jim Risch (R-ID), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), John Kennedy (R-LA), and Todd Young (R-IN).
You can read the full resolution below.
Resolution urging White House to work with Congress to tackle crime, border crisis. by yallpolitics on Scribd
Anne Summerhays
