The next meeting of the Legislative District 14 Republican Central Committee will be held on Thursday, October 12, 2023, at 7:00pm at the Eagle City Hall Community Center. All are invited to join us.
Candidates for office are invited to meet the LD14 PCs and guests. We will also hear from any LD14 legislators present. Chairman Steven Thayn will discuss his work on microschool legislation for the upcoming session.
Representative Ted Hill sends this report about his visit to the US/Mexico border:
A Trip To The Border
I recently made a visit to the border at Eagle Pass, Tx with my good friend Max Brown. This region has been one of the most active areas for illegal immigration on the Texas border. My initial impression was the quantity of resources that were positioned and active along the six mile stretch we observed. There were vehicles from numerous law enforcement entities, riverboats and even drones. Several Army Guard units from numerous states were operating, including construction, communication, and tactical units. One commonality is everyone in every unit was heavily armed. The violence has been low, but the risk is still considered high. All the people working on this border are consummate professionals, working under extremely difficult conditions. They are all dedicated to the mission at hand.
The Biden open border policy has created a humanitarian crisis unprecedented in U.S history. On top of the 1.7 million known got aways, border agents have apprehended more than 6.7 million illegal immigrants at our borders since the beginning of the Biden administration.
In the Eagle Pass Region, 800-1500 illegal immigrants attempt to cross the Rio Grande River each day. All these people are taking tremendous risk crossing a treacherous river. We observed a group of 15 people, including mothers and small children attempting to cross. Luckily, they turned back before disaster. Many human traffickers make the kids come over as "family" members. Human trafficking is a multi-billion-dollar industry and much lower risk than drugs. The drug smuggling occurs in the less guarded and remote locations. Individuals pay $5,000 - $10,000 each and some get three tries to successfully cross for that price. We observed Coyotes assisting, but to a minimal degree. I see them taking no risks.
The way to solve this crisis is to disincentive people from taking such risk. We can address this in the Idaho legislature where I intend to pursue legislation that will disincentive illegal immigration to the State of Idaho. We will not be a sanctuary state!
The Fentanyl Crisis:
Fentanyl is a scourge to America and Idaho. The CCP has been committing overt sabotage to disrupt the peace of our communities and kill our children by directly subsidizing the Cartels with the precursors to make Fentanyl. President Biden’s open border policy contributes to the influx of this lethal drug. Drug cartels, not Americans, are controlling access into our country. The overwhelming majority of Fentanyl is being smuggled across the border through legal points of entry.
Drug deaths nationwide hit anew record in 2022. 109,680 people died.
It is the leading cause of death for young adults between 18 and 45.
From 2020 to 2021, the rate of Fentanyl related overdose deaths doubled in Idaho.
Efforts are currently underway to address this scourge of Fentanyl in our state.