Criminal charges in Texas border county jump by 5,000% since amid Biden took office

While the crisis at the southern border has impacted the entire nation, the areas nearest to Mexico have been hit hardest. Among them is Kinney County, Texas, which has seen criminal prosecutions jump by 5,000 percent in the years since Joe Biden took office.

The unprecedented spike has diverted resources from the community's essential services, and made life harder for residents.

During a hearing on the border crisis hosted by the House Budget Committee, Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith noted that in 2020, only 134 criminal charges were recorded in his jurisdiction.

"This drastically changed in 2021," he explained, "after President Biden issued multiple executive orders revoking numerous border security policies that the DHS was operating under to successfully secure our border."

He detailed how soon after, cartels "seized control of our border and imposed their own policies that would allow their criminal enterprises to thrive."

In 2021, the county recorded 2,708 criminal charges, and the following year, that number ballooned to 6,800. While the figure did decrease slightly to 5,826 in 2023, Smith noted that it was still far too many for authorities to deal with.

He said that while the county typically runs on a $6 million budget, Biden's open border policies have cost Texas taxpayers an additional $10.5 million, on top of the unmeasurable cost of losing the feeling of safety and security.

Smith went on to note that "two taxpaying residents have died because emergency medical services were not available when they were needed the most." 

Instead, he lamented, "all available paramedics were deployed to human smuggling events miles away and were unable to respond."

"The violence and lawlessness occurring on our border is not sustainable for any sovereign nation, let alone a Texas county comprised of 3,200 citizens," Smith concluded. "Make no mistake, the wilful neglect of this administration's refusal to enforce the laws of our nation have compromised the safety of not only Texans, but every American."