Letter to Hon. Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation, and Hon. Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security -

Letter

Dear Secretary Buttigieg and Secretary Mayorkas:

We are gravely concerned by the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) order grounding
private drones previously flying above our southern border. It is undeniable we have a crisis at
the border as more than 1.3 million migrants have been apprehended at our southwest border this
year, a 386% increase over this time last year. The Department of Homeland Security has
routinely denied Members of Congress and the media access to border facilities, especially those
over capacity and facing the most significant challenges.

Now the FAA has grounded privately owned drones from flying over the border to capture
images of thousands of migrants sheltering under a bridge, waiting to be picked up by Border
Patrol. According to the FAA's statement, "[t]he Border Patrol requested the temporary flight
restriction due to drones interfering with law enforcement flights on the border". However, the
impacted media outlets claim they have flown drones over the border in this general location for
months without any federal impediment. Although the FAA ultimately granted this media outlet
a permit to resume drone flights in this area, the question of why these flights were denied in the
first place remains. The common thread is that President Biden refuses to be honest with the
American people about the nature of this crisis or work with Congress to supply the resources
this Administration needs to bring the border situation under control.

If we don't understand the extent of the problem and the Administration continues to take
proactive steps to obscure the crisis at our southern border, the crisis will only get worse. We
need transparency and a concerted, whole-of-government effort to tackle this crisis head-on if we
are to secure our borders. It is also concerning that many of these individuals, reportedly more
than 9,000 migrants, may cross into the U.S., untested for COVID, with no more than an "Notice
to Appear" at an immigration hearing.

If the Administration will not be honest with the American people about this crisis, we must at
least allow the media to provide accurate reporting on the situation. We strongly urge the FAA to
reverse this decision to ground these drones and, to the degree Border Patrol requested this order,
for Border Patrol to rescind this request. Furthermore, please provide responses to the following:

 A detailed explanation from DHS on how they are processing these people, specifically if
they are utilizing the Remain in Mexico Policy or if they are being released into the
United States.
 Are individuals being tested for COVID or provided a vaccine? If so, how many positive
tests have you recorded and are these people subsequently quarantined?
 How your Department plans to address the current surge and discourage people from
trying to illegally coming into the U.S.?
 What actions and precautions DHS is taking to ensure children are not being trafficked by
drug cartels along the border?

It is past time to address the problem and regain operational control of our borders. As Members
of Congress, we stand ready to provide whatever resources necessary to secure our border.

We look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

Members of Congress

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