You Were Warned: Biden’s Border Failures Are A Threat
The shooting of two National Guard members near the White House—allegedly by an Afghan migrant who entered the United States under a rushed and poorly vetted program—is not an isolated tragedy. It is the inevitable result of a border and immigration system that the Biden administration recklessly dismantled, politicized, and ignored.
This didn’t happen in a vacuum. This happened because the Biden/Harris team chose ideology over security, optics over enforcement, and political convenience over the safety of the American people. Biden defenders like Laura Gillen will say this is a one-off case or just ignore that it even occurred. But the truth is unavoidable: this tragedy sits squarely on the shoulders of Biden and Democrats who refused to secure the border, refused to vet properly, and refused to admit there was a crisis.
During Homeland Security hearings, I repeatedly raised alarms about mass parole programs, incomplete vetting, and the inability of law enforcement or intelligence agencies to verify identities from places like Afghanistan after the fall of Kabul. I warned that hostile individuals could exploit weakened vetting procedures. I warned that cartels, foreign adversaries, and bad actors were using the border chaos to their advantage. I warned that the U.S. could not keep up with the staggering volume of arrivals. For that, I was called a fear-monger. I was accused of exaggerating. I was told that questioning Biden’s policies was “anti-immigrant.”
It wasn’t anti-immigrant then, and it isn’t now. It is anti-chaos. It is anti-danger. It is pro-security.
And now, after Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe lies in critical condition and Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom was murdered at the hands of an individual who never should have been allowed into the country, my warnings—along with the warnings of countless national-security professionals—have been proven tragically correct.
Under President Trump’s first term, the United States had an actual border strategy. It wasn’t theoretical. It wasn’t symbolic. It produced real results. The Trump administration implemented the Remain in Mexico policy, strengthened asylum standards, expanded cross-border agreements, increased physical barriers, and restored consequences for illegal entry. Intelligence-sharing improved. Vetting was structured and enforceable. Cartels faced pressure instead of opportunity. Illegal crossings plummeted. Agents had the bandwidth to properly vet those who legitimately needed U.S. protection.
Whether one loved Trump or hated him, the numbers were undeniable: the border was more controlled, more secure, and more predictable than it had been in decades.
Then came Joe Biden.
Within days of taking office, the new administration dismantled nearly every effective policy that had restored order. They ended Remain in Mexico. They halted wall construction. They expanded catch-and-release. They abused parole authority on a scale never imagined by Congress. They stopped interior enforcement. They sent a message to the world: the border is open, and consequences are minimal.
The result? Record crossings. Record gotaways. Record strain on federal and local resources. And a vetting system so overwhelmed that it could not possibly verify identities from collapsed foreign governments—let alone identify those with ties to extremist groups. Biden’s open borders caused harm in every corner of this beautiful Nation. We constantly said, “it’s not if, it’s when.”
This shooting is not a surprise. It is the predictable outcome of a border left intentionally unguarded and a foreign policy that projects weakness, confusion, and indecision. The chaos in Afghanistan following Biden’s disastrous withdrawal set off a chain reaction that the administration has never taken responsibility for. When Kabul fell, the administration rushed tens of thousands of individuals through evacuation channels that lacked full vetting. Intelligence agencies could not verify backgrounds. Many individuals lacked documentation. Others carried paperwork created under a collapsed, corrupt government. Even internal DHS reports admitted gaps. At the same time, Biden projected weakness abroad—toward the Taliban, toward Iran, toward adversaries across the globe. Authoritarian regimes and terrorist networks saw an opportunity. They saw an administration unwilling to enforce consequences. They saw a border in shambles. And they took advantage of it.
This is what happens when an administration leads from behind, shrinks from hard decisions, and treats national security as a political inconvenience.
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Laura Gillen love to frame every border concern as an “immigration debate.” That is deliberate, and it is dishonest. Immigration is about legal pathways, visas, citizenship, and the countless individuals who come here legally, build lives, and follow the rules.
This tragedy has nothing to do with immigration.
This is about border security, national defense, and the federal government’s basic duty to protect its citizens. It is about whether the United States has operational control of its territory. It is about whether we know who is entering the country. It is about whether our own service members can stand guard near the White House without being shot by someone who slipped through a broken vetting system.
Joe Biden allowed nearly 15 million people to come into this Nation illegally, wreak havoc, claim victims, and poison our children with dangerous narcotics.
On January 20, 2024, I witnessed Donald J. Trump take his oath as our Commander in Chief for the second time. Moments after swearing on the Bible, President Trump proved to the world that this was never about immigration, it was border security. We didn’t need new immigration legislation to fix the criminal illegal migrant issue—we just needed a new Commander in Chief. President Trump has made our border the most secure it’s been. He’s provided law enforcement professionals the resources they need to live out their oath. With a Republican Senate and House, he’s funded technology, infrastructure, and personnel to keep this Nation safe. He’s also heard from Americans, especially Americans whose cities and communities have been ravaged by criminals. President Trump has taken every step necessary to Make America Safe Again.
The shooting of two National Guard members is not simply a tragic event; it is a national-security failure. It’s what we warned Americans about. The Biden system buckled under the weight of political decisions divorced from reality and we are now paying the price. This could have been prevented by securing our border and demanding those who want to achieve the American Dream, to simply come through the front door. It could have been prevented with a foreign policy that projects strength rather than confusion. It could have been prevented if the administration had listened to the experts, the intelligence community, law enforcement, and those of us who sounded the alarm in public hearings.
Instead, the warnings were ignored. The policies collapsed. And now, President Trump is working every day to clean up this mess. And sadly, last week, two American uniformed service members paid a price.
I’ll never apologize for the America First agenda. President Trump is working day and night to restore commonsense policies that work, enforce the laws on the books, and rebuild a vetting system capable of distinguishing friend from foe. Anything less is an invitation for more tragedies.
Let us all pray for the recovery of Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and may the memory of Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom be a blessing.
Biden’s America was a free-for-all where criminals thrived and the men and women keeping us safe were muzzled. Not anymore. Donald J. Trump is the sheriff this country needed—restoring order, securing the border, and giving our peacemakers the power to take our streets back. n
Congressman Anthony D’Esposito was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as Inspector General of the Department of Labor. Previously, he served in Congress, representing New York’s 4th Congressional District. Anthony served as a Councilman in the Town of Hempstead after retiring from the NYPD as a highly decorated Detective. He also served as Chief of the Island Park Fire Department and helped lead the all-volunteer organization’s response to Super-Storm Sandy. The Congressman appears frequently on Fox News, Newsmax, ABC National News, and 77 WABC Sid and Friends in the Morning. To contact, email [email protected].
