Sen. Ted Cruz wrote to President Biden Monday to demand he lift a ban on media access at overwhelmed immigration intake facilities along the southern border, where thousands of illegal immigrants have been pouring into the United States in recent weeks.

Cruz, a Texas Republican, wants reporters to accompany a delegation of GOP senators to the Rio Grande Valley on Friday, but Homeland Security officials have mostly blocked media access along the southern border, where crowded conditions have been reported as the massive influx of immigrants overwhelm U.S. immigration officials.