Dear Friend,

Did you know that “Trump’s wall” was a continuation of George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama-era policies in the early 2000s?

It’s true. President Bush and President Obama were each responsible for the installation of hundreds of miles of physical barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. By the time President Trump took office in January 2017, a total of 406 miles of border wall had already been constructed and an additional 248 miles of vehicle barrier had been built.

Last week, as a member of the House Oversight Committee, I visited the southwestern border for myself and participated in a field hearing on our country’s border crisis.

Our national security should not be a partisan issue, but that is clearly the case as not a single Democrat joined us on this trip. Seeing and hearing the folks most affected by Biden’s harmful policies was impactful, and I’m disappointed that the other side of the aisle chose to turn a blind eye to this national emergency.

Upon arriving in Cochise County, Arizona, I was briefed alongside my House Oversight and Judiciary colleagues by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General. Here we learned the details of the Biden administration’s border security negligence. The inspector general shared about the Customs and Border Patrol’s (CBP) severe lack of resources, including understaffing and an archaic IT system that does not effectively allow CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement to track migrants from apprehension to release or transfer, or share information between border sectors and stations.

If you’ve ever wondered how it’s so easy for unauthorized migrants to hide in the system, it’s because a single piece of paper or a note on an erasable whiteboard is the only document keeping track of them.

We ended day one with a night trip to the border wall where the stadium lights had been erected but ordered to not be connected by President Biden, and you could see the crushed barbed wire from unauthorized migrants trying to scale the border.

The following day further illuminated the severity of the border crisis starting from Arizona and spilling into towns across America. We met with Sheriff Mark Dannels of Cochise County, who told us of the unique challenges of the border crisis in the Tucson Sector.

In 2022, of the 561,553 migrants apprehended while trying to illegally enter the U.S. between ports of entry, the Tucson Sector saw 251,954 of them. The largest distinction from other sectors along the border is that many of these migrants are violent and armed military-age men dressed in full camouflage who are determined to enter the U.S. and evade law enforcement.

Local law enforcement then took us to visit the unfinished wall where we saw weld marks and dates of every time each pillar of the wall had to be repaired because it had been cut out by illegal migrants.

One of the most unsettling aspects of the trip was when we looked beyond the unfinished wall, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Department pointed out where a cartel member sits 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, keeping watch of U.S. activity along the border.

The cartel members use social media to communicate with each other, and these members play a crucial role in telling migrants when and where to cross every single day.

We ended the day with a field hearing where Sheriff Dannels, border experts and community members made clear what 72% of Americans across the political spectrum already believe - there is a major problem or crisis at our southern border.

I have long been concerned that our open border and the fentanyl making its way to the mountains of Western North Carolina have made us a border town. Meeting with the people who are on-the-ground at the border every day gave further insight as to how Congress can step in to address any gaps and take practical measures toward defending our border and keeping our communities safe.

In response to this obvious crisis, the U.S. House passed the most significant border security bill in our nation’s history, H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023. This bill continues the construction of the wall, adds much-needed border agents, restores Trump’s remain-in-Mexico policies and reforms the outdated process for asylum applications. I urge the U.S. Senate to take this bill up immediately and get it on the desk of the president.

Protecting our mountain way of life

On September 7, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will vote to decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana for sale and use on its tribal lands.

This is an issue that will adversely affect counties throughout Western North Carolina during a time when we’re already facing unprecedented crime, drug addiction, and mental illness.

I’m particularly proud of my strong working relationship with the EBCI, and the Tribal Council, and consider the tribe my friends. However, there are times when friends disagree, and I must do so regarding legalizing recreational marijuana.

Read my opinion on the referendum here.

Following the evidence of the Biden family’s influence-peddling

As a member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, I’m continuing to thoroughly investigate President Biden and his family’s business dealings both while he served as vice president and afterward.

Devon Archer, a business associate of Hunter Biden, was recently interviewed by the Oversight Committee under subpoena. During the interview, Archer confirmed that then-Vice President Joe Biden was “the brand” that his son marketed around the world to benefit the Biden family. Then-VP Biden joined Hunter Biden and his business associates on the phone or at dinner over 20 times to peddle “the brand” and send a clear message about what being financially connected with a close Biden family member could get someone, especially foreign companies willing to pay.

To be clear, this goes beyond simply distasteful influence peddling, which was reinforced by the voluntary testimony of two IRS whistleblowers that detailed the calculated efforts of the Biden Department of Justice to interfere with the investigation into Hunter Biden’s tax and firearm crimes. Now that Hunter Biden’s sweetheart plea deal with the DOJ has fallen apart and he is most likely headed to trial, please trust that I’ll continue to follow the evidence so that we may bring the truth to light.

Protecting WNC first responders’ retirement access

When I speak with firefighters and EMS professionals across Western North Carolina, the concern that I’m told the most is the inability of those employed full-time by nonprofit departments to access the state pension system, which those employed by municipal departments can access.

The hang-up here lies in the current federal tax code, and H.R. 5241 will right this wrong by allowing those employed by nonprofit departments to enjoy the same access to stable and secure retirement benefits as others in the state providing the same emergency services.

I’ve been helping to develop this solution that will support the recruitment and rewarding of firefighters in our district since first being elected to Congress, and I’ll keep fighting for this legislation to reach the president’s desk for enactment by the end of the 118th Congress. Our brave firefighters and EMS professionals put their lives on the line every day for our safety, and this bill will allow them to access the secure retirement benefits that they have earned.

Read more about the bill here.

Asheville residents deserve clean and reliable water

As eight months have passed and another winter is approaching, I’ve urged the Asheville City Council to prioritize completing the Independent Review Committee’s recommendations to protect citizens’ access to safe and reliable water before another accident occurs.

Any local government should urgently meet this critical responsibility of making sure that its citizens have the most basic resource provided through a reliable and resilient water system.

Read my letter to the Asheville councilmembers here.

Leicester farm tours

If you ate today, be sure to thank a farmer.

It was a pleasure to spend time in Leicester, NC, visiting with Aaron and Annie Grier at Gaining Ground Farm. Gaining Ground Farm is a 70-acre farm that is home to several varieties of livestock and acres of vegetable fields.

I also had the opportunity to visit with Michael and Anna RiCharde at Good Wheel Farm in Sandy Mush. Good Wheel Farm is a 40-acre farm full of trees, nuts, and shrubs, and several types of animals, including sheep, cattle and poultry. This farm's livestock is rotated through several fresh pastures and helps keep mountain folks fed.

These salt-of-the-earth family farmers proudly engage in responsible, environmentally friendly processes that support sustainable land use practices. They use crop and livestock rotation, agroforestry, improved pollination, smart rotation of ground covers, soil-tillage reduction, and many other methods to provide food for our communities and help preserve our mountains. One farmer said her grandfather described these techniques as old-fashioned “country farming.”

However, these processes are not cheap, and their yields are not as good as massive commercial operations. I hope that, as you visit local restaurants and markets, you will prioritize buying from local producers who need our support.

I’m continually amazed at the ingenuity, resourcefulness and innovation of the farmers in our district. The hospitality of WNC farmers is unmatched, and I look forward to continuing to have discussions with farmers in the 11th district and with the members of my Agricultural Advisory Board in order to bring a mountain perspective to the congressional Farm Bill process.

Remember, no farms, no food.

With my warmest regards,

Chuck Edwards
Member of Congress