When Rep. Brad Knott appeared on Fox Report over the weekend, he didn’t mince words — calling the current handling of our border an “absolute dereliction of duty.” He laid bare what every American sees: a federal government that has abandoned its core responsibility to protect citizens and enforce the law. Knott’s bluntness is refreshing in a capital full of career politicians more interested in photo ops than results.
Knott made it clear that this crisis isn’t abstract policy talk for elected elites — it’s a real threat to public safety, fiscal sanity, and the rule of law. He argued, rightly, that America must put far more scrutiny on who we admit and under what circumstances, because open-handed generosity without verification invites the worst actors into our communities. That hard truth is what real leadership looks like: stop the sugar-coated fantasies and start protecting Americans first.
That is why Knott and House Republicans are pushing serious legislative change, including the Punishing Illegal Immigrant Felons Act to jack up penalties for hardened criminals who exploit our porous border. This is not cruelty — it is common-sense deterrence: if the cost of coming here to commit violent crime is life behind bars, the cartels and gangs will think twice. For too long, weak penalties have been an incentive; Knott’s bill finally treats these repeat offenders the way they deserve to be treated.
Beyond criminal penalties, Knott is also backing measures to protect the men and women on the front lines, including tougher punishments for those who assault ICE agents doing the nation’s work. Attacking enforcement officers should bring stiffer consequences, not leniency, because when you go after the people who enforce the law you’re attacking the rule of law itself. Supporting our agents is not a political talking point — it’s essential to restoring order at the border and in our cities.
Let’s be blunt: this calamity was manufactured by policy choices and willful negligence from the executive branch, and Republicans across the country are rightly slamming that failure as a dereliction of duty. From congressional oversight to bold, practical bills, conservatives are the only force pushing to repair a system the Biden administration has turned into a magnet for crime and exploitation. Americans who work for every dollar in this country deserve a government that puts their safety and prosperity first, not one that subsidizes chaos.
Knott didn’t come to Washington to win headlines — he flipped a blue district by promising to fight for common-sense governance and to stop Washington waste and incompetence. He’s keeping that promise by spotlighting taxpayer burden from unchecked migration and demanding accountability for the agencies that failed to stop it. That sort of backbone is precisely what the country needs more of in the House.
If Americans want border security, they must elect leaders who will act, not apologize, and pass laws that remove incentives for illegal entry while giving law enforcement the tools to keep us safe. Knott’s approach — tougher sentencing for criminal aliens, protection for ICE, and stricter vetting — is a common-sense blueprint for restoring order. Washington can either continue to watch the nation unravel, or it can follow the example of patriots who put America first and finish the job.
