1. The President closed the Flores Settlement loophole. The Flores Settlement stated that minors could be held for no more than 20 days before they were released, regardless of whether they had come before an immigration judge yet. This incentivized people looking to come into the U.S. illegally to bring children, whether it was their child or not, because even though the rule only required children to be released, often the entire family unit was released in order to keep them together. This rule is why so many family units began to appear at the border.
   
   
2. President Trump revised and tightened the "public charge rule". Just as a college or university does, when the U.S. looks at individuals wants to immigrate here, we first decide if that person would be an asset to our community. This is not unique to the United States, by the way. If a person has a history of abusing government benefits or a criminal record, they are deemed as being a "public charge", meaning that they would likely be a drain on our economy instead of adding to it. President Trump has made long overdue changes to this assessment process by tightening the rules and ensuring that our legal immigration system is working the way it's supposed to.
   
   
3. During my trips to our Southern border, I realized how many Central Americans were illegally crossing Mexico's Southern border to the United States' Southern border. Mexico was not only not upholding their end of the bargain at the U.S.-Mexico border, but they, too, had a porous Southern border. In June, President Trump reached an agreement with Mexico that resulted in the Mexican National Guard being deployed to Mexico's Southern border in order to curtail illegal immigrants to entering their country. Not only did this help decrease the number of illegal crossers at our border, but discouraging people to cross into Mexico undoubtedly saves many lives and prevents many crimes, as it keeps Central Americans out of the hands of the criminal Mexican cartels.

I took to the House Floor this week to discuss these accomplishments as well as the work that is left to be done. Please click the picture below to view my comments.

Finishing out a week with several appearances on the House Floor, I was happy to introduce my friend and colleague, Congressman Sean Duffy, before he made his last speech on the House Floor before his retirement. Sean is resigning from Congress to take care of his family. He and his wife, Rachel, are expecting their 9th child.

Congressman Duffy has long been a leader who brings real Wisconsin values and common-sense solutions to Washington. He has been a model representative who looks out for his district, because it truly is his home. In addition to being an expert on the Financial Services Committee, Sean Duffy’s outgoing lumberjack personality will be sorely missed by all of Congress. I wish Sean, Rachel and their children all the best in these trying times and hope to see them back in the Capitol sometime in the future.

Happy 72nd birthday to the United States Air Force! Thank you to all of the brave men and women who defend our country every day. Aim High, Fly-Fight-Win!