Republicans Tout Border Success Under Trump, Credit ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) led a delegation of GOP senators and candidates to the U.S.-Mexico border Friday, declaring that the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” has given border agents the tools and authority they need to “take back control” of the southern frontier — and that voters should reward that success in November’s midterm elections.

Speaking alongside Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), National Border Patrol Council President Paul Perez, and several Republican hopefuls, Thune said the calm now seen along the Texas border is “a testament to what happens when Washington finally backs law enforcement instead of tying its hands.”

“A year ago, President Trump hadn’t even been sworn in yet. We were still suffering,” Thune said. “The American people were under the Biden open border policies.”

Thune, who helped shepherd the sweeping border and anti-fraud package through Congress last spring, warned that continued vigilance — and continued Republican control of Congress — would be required to maintain security gains.

“One of the things that’s really important to maintaining the progress that’s been made here at the southern border is for us to protect and preserve our majority in the United States Senate,” he said. “Hopefully even expand upon it — and to make sure that we maintain that majority in the House of Representatives.”

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a signature Trump-era measure, combined funding for wall construction, manpower increases, and expanded deportation authority with broader anti-fraud and verification systems for federal aid programs. The law also tightened the rules governing state and local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Sen. Cornyn said Texas alone received roughly $11 billion in border-related reimbursements under the legislation — “compared to nothing under President Biden.”

“Texas carried the burden for years,” Cornyn said. “Now, under President Trump, we finally have a partner in Washington who’s willing to secure this border and back our law enforcement.”

Paul Perez, who leads the National Border Patrol Council, credited both Trump and congressional Republicans for what he called a “complete turnaround” after four years of chaos.

“From day one, President Trump took the handcuffs off the Border Patrol agents and allowed them to do their jobs,” Perez said. “Under the Biden administration, millions of people crossed the border illegally. They were unvetted and released into this country. The Biden administration not only encouraged it — they facilitated it.”

Perez said that since the enactment of the new GOP-led law, morale among agents has rebounded. “This administration and this Congress actually listen,” he said. “We finally have the funding, the support, and the mandate to protect this country like it’s never been protected before.”

Republican lawmakers at the event said the transformation along the southern border — now seeing record deportations and the lowest illegal crossing rate in a decade — should become a centerpiece of the GOP’s midterm message.

“The American people wanted results,” Thune said. “President Trump delivered those results.”

Still, Thune acknowledged that the U.S. faces the long-term challenge of undoing what he called “the chaos” of prior policies. “We still have to clean up the mess,” he said.

When asked by The Washington Timeswhether Republicans would pursue legislation to penalize states that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, Thune said it was under consideration.

“I think it’s always a real possibility if you’ve got local officials who are circumventing or flouting federal law,” he said. “There are ways, obviously, through the power of the purse and resources that every state benefits enormously from with federal funding coming into their state. I’m sure there are things you could look at.”

“You could see legislation to ensure that people benefiting from federal programs are who they say they are,” Thune said. “There have been a lot of conversations around biometric testing or confirming IDs in some way — making sure these programs aren’t being gamed and abused by individuals, groups, or even entire states.”