A number of Republican representatives recounted their experiences during a two-day trip to the southern border on Wednesday, positing that President Joe Biden’s immigration policies led to rampant cartel activity and an ever-growing influx of migrants.
The trip, spearheaded by Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, took place in McAllen, Texas, and included several Republican members of the House Judiciary Committee. Jordan said House Democrats were invited on the trip but declined to participate.
“In all my years in Congress, this has been the most disturbing field tour that I’ve ever taken,” California Rep. Tom McClintock told reporters at a roundtable on Wednesday.
“Yesterday, we watched literally hundreds of illegal migrants crossing the border and turning themselves in to the Border Patrol,” he continued. “Groups who were in the company of children under seven had their basic biometric information taken down, and then [they were] dispatched to bus stations to continue into the United States.”
McClintock claimed that authorities project that 1 million unaccompanied minors will enter the U.S. by the conclusion of the year, dwarfing previous estimates of around 117,000. The California Republican said migrant children are held for an average of 24 days and that the situation is “getting worse by the day” as Mexican cartels net roughly $500 million per month through human trafficking.
“One-hundred family units illegally crossed the border the week of the election,” he said. “By the week of the inauguration, the number increased to 1,100 family units. It reached 15,000 the weekend of March 24.”
“We are feeding the Mexican crime cartels,” he added. “The crime cartels are taking in roughly a half a billion dollars a month through this human trafficking network.”
McClintock faulted Biden’s choice to end the “remain in Mexico” asylum policy for the surge, and he railed against the administration’s decision to halt funding for the border wall, two of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure the nation’s immigration system.
“In fact, under [Biden’s] executive orders, our entire country is now a sanctuary nation,” he said.
In recent months, the Biden administration has been grappling with bipartisan criticism for its handling of the situation at the southern border. Customs and Border Protection authorities reported that agents witnessed an unprecedented 170,000 attempted illegal crossings for the month of March. In February, only 100,000 tried to do the same. Law enforcement noted that roughly 78,000 people attempted crossings in January.
Unaccompanied migrant children also continue to flood holding facilities as the administration scrambles to open alternative housing. At least 12 new facilities have opened since Biden assumed office.
Indiana Rep. Victoria Spartz blamed “perverse incentives and lack of leadership” for the surge, adding that 40% of Border Patrol agents are preoccupied with processing the influx and are unable to perform their normal duties.
“Perverse incentive and lack of leadership from this administration [have] created a real serious crisis at the border. And it has really escalated,” she said on Wednesday.
“Forty percent of our Border Patrol agents are busy processing people and changing diapers,” she continued. “It means that they cannot do their job protecting the border. It means that Mexican cartels are controlling the border. This is a national security and humanitarian crisis.”
Utah Rep. Burgess Owens recounted sobbing children and a young woman who has chosen not to speak following trauma from gang rape.
“We heard about a young lady who now cannot talk because of her trauma being gang-raped,” he said during the roundtable. “These are choices, my friends. Whether American or Mexican or Guatemalan, it doesn’t matter. These are our children. We have an administration that does not have the backbone to come down here and encourage these great men and women who are doing a job but being overwhelmed right now.”
Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs called the situation “horrific to see,” while Jordan likened the scene to a “catastrophe.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Brandon Judd of the National Border Patrol Council, a law enforcement union, said the surge will not stop unless the Biden administration rescinds its catch-and-release program, which allows illegal immigrants to be placed into the U.S. while they await trial.
“We have to have an open and honest conversation if we want to solve the problem, and that’s what we want to do,” he said. “We want to solve the problem. As long as the catch-and-release program continues to go on, people are going to cross our borders illegally. If they know that they can cross our borders and that they will be released into the United States, they are going to continue to come.”
