Congressman Gabe Evans Votes to Strengthen Border Security, Combat Cartels, & Protect CO Communities

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Gabe Evans joined House Republicans in supporting the Secure America Act, legislation that provides long-term funding for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and critical Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operations responsible for securing the homeland and protecting American communities.

This legislation comes after Democrats blocked funding measures that resulted in a 76-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year, creating uncertainty for law enforcement personnel, border security operations, and national security that millions of Americans rely on every day. After Democrats kept calling to defund federal law enforcement agencies doing this critical work and refused to accept responsible reforms to immigration enforcement offered by President Trump, Republicans created a separate funding package to ensure DHS personnel had the resources necessary to continue protecting the American people.

"As a former cop, I saw firsthand what happens when politicians wage war on law enforcement. The defund the police movement made our communities less safe, emboldened criminals, and handcuffed law enforcement. Today, Democrats are pushing the same failed playbook, as they call to abolish our federal law enforcement agencies.

In Colorado, we've seen the consequences of their failed public safety policies firsthand. Despite making up just 2 percent of the nation's population, our state accounts for nearly 10 percent of reported human traffickingactivity nationwide, while overdose deaths and violent crime continue to rise - devastating communities across Colorado.

The Secure America Act equips our federal law enforcement with the personnel, technology, and operational support necessary to secure the border, dismantle cartel networks, combat human trafficking, and remove dangerous criminals from our neighborhoods.

Republicans are delivering the resources law enforcement needs, while ensuring America never returns to the policies that created the border crisis in the first place." - Congressman Gabe Evans

The Secure America Actprovides nearly $70 billion to strengthen border security and immigration enforcement operations. The legislation invests in additional Border Patrol agents, Homeland Security Investigations personnel, border surveillance technology, drug interdiction efforts, removal operations, and detention capacity. It also expands cooperation between federal, state, and local law enforcement through 287(g) agreements, helping law enforcement agencies work together to identify, apprehend, and remove dangerous criminal offenders.

The legislation also includes funding to combat child exploitation, support law enforcement investigations targeting transnational criminal organizations, strengthen border screening capabilities, and provide additional resources to stop the flow of fentanyl and other deadly drugs into American communities.

Congressman Gabe Evans has consistently advocated for stronger border security, increased efforts to combat cartel activity, and policies that prioritize public safety. During recent Homeland Security Committee hearings, Congressman Evans has highlighted Colorado's rising overdose deaths, increasing homicide rates, and disproportionate share of the nation's human trafficking activity, emphasizing the need to focus immigration enforcement resources on the worst of the worst while dismantling the criminal organizations responsible for bringing violence, drugs, and exploitation into American communities.