Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith testified before the House Budget Committee last week and told them the situation today is far different from what it was when former President Donald Trump was in office. The crime rate has increased exponentially over Biden’s first term.

During a House Budget Committee hearing last week, Kinney County Attorney Brent Smith told lawmakers that in 2020, under former President Donald Trump, the county reported just 134 criminal charges for prosecution.

After Biden “issued multiple executive orders, revoking numerous border security policies,” Smith said criminal charges for prosecution skyrocketed in 2021 to nearly 3,000, roughly 6,800 in 2022, and more than 5,800 in 2023.

This indicates that from 2020 to 2022, Kinney County saw criminal charges for prosecution increase by almost 5,000 percent, and from 2020 to 2023, increase by more than 4,200 percent.

“Kinney County normally operates within a $6 million-dollar annual budget,” Smith told lawmakers:

Even more alarming is that on at least two occasions, residents who required emergency medical services perished because resources were being diverted to help illegal immigrants.

“On both occasions, all available paramedics were already deployed to human smuggling events miles away and were unable to respond to the county residents,” Smith said. “This is a clear example of how open border policies have deadly consequences for Americans across this nation.”

What is happening in Kinney County is a reflection of the broader crisis facing the nation at the moment as the influx of illegals and asylum seekers persists. It has created an immense burden for border towns and major cities across the U.S. Local governments are struggling to handle the constant flow of foreigners into the country.

Meanwhile, a report from the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) reveals that more than half of the immigrant population in the United States is currently unemployed. It noted that only “46 percent of the foreign-born who arrived in 2022 or later were employed in the first part of 2024” and that “only about 8 percent of the 2.5 million new arrivals who are not working say they are actively looking for work.”

The authors also point out that while “Immigration clearly adds workers to the country,” it “just as clearly adds non-workers who need to be supported by the labor of others.”

The CIS report also noted that the number of foreign-born individuals in the United States has reached record highs. This includes both legal and illegal immigrants.

The foreign-born or immigrant population (legal and illegal) hit new record highs in March 2024, reaching 51.6 million and 15.6 percent of the total U.S. population. Since March 2022, the foreign-born population has increased by 5.1 million, the largest two-year increase in American history. The foreign-born population has never grown this much this fast.

This would create quite a dilemma for the Biden administration if they were actually serious about addressing the problem. Those favoring open borders argue in favor of providing work permits while they wait for their court dates. However, the report notes that “others worry that this approach could incentivize further illegal immigration, exacerbating the existing crisis.”

It seems likely that the lack of employment among the foreign-born population could be contributing to the crime issues occurring in places like Kinney County. Addressing the issue would require a multifaceted strategy aimed at reforming the process by which people come into the country legally while vetting those interested in immigrating to protect the safety of American citizens. Unfortunately, given this administration’s history, these solutions will not be forthcoming anytime soon – and it will be everyday Americans who suffer for it.