WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., recently led 22 House Republicans on a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, urging him to address the record illegal border crossings along our Northern border.

This letter was co-led by Northern Border Security Caucus Chairs Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Ryan Zinke (R-MT), as well as House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY).

“While the Southwest Border has been overrun with drug smugglers, we cannot allow another avenue for deadly, illegal drugs into our country and our communities,” the members wrote. “In FY 2024 alone, Border Patrol agents are on track to apprehend a record number of illegal immigrants at the Northern border. These statistics are yet another example of how the Biden administration is downplaying the serious nature of this orchestrated border crisis. Every state has now become a border state under your leadership – or lack thereof.”

According to U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) data, in 2023, Border Patrol agents apprehended 10,021 aliens illegally crossing the border between ports of entry, including 2,229 apprehensions in the first four months alone. In the first four months of 2024, through January 2024, the Border Patrol has already apprehended 4,772 subjects along the Northern Border, a 114% increase from the first four months of 2023. In 2024 alone, Border Patrol agents are on track to apprehend a record number of illegal immigrants at the Northern border.

Additionally, the lawmakers reveal the Northern Border has also seen an increase in drug smuggling, particularly fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. CBP has seized nearly double the amount of fentanyl – the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45 – in the first four months of FY 2024 than it did throughout the entirety of 2023 at the Northern Border.