Speaker Mike Johnson heads to the southern border in Texas alongside 60 Republicans just days after HISTORIC 302,000 illegal migrants crossed into the US in December
Speaker Mike Johnson and 60 House Republicans are headed to the U.S.-Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, this week, just as the number of crossings reached another record high in December.
The group, led by Rep. Tony Gonzales, who represents the area, will hear from Border Patrol, the Texas Department of Public Safety and other stakeholders and tour the region. It is the first large-scale congressional delegation to the border led by the new chairman.
The trip comes the week before Congress is set to return and face not only a host of spending deadlines but also a deal to tighten border security and provide foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel.
“This situation requires significant policy changes, and House Republicans will continue to advocate for real solutions that actually secure our border,” Johnson said.
Migrants cross the Rio Grande from Juarez, Mexico to the US – December 31
Officials from the Chiapas Center for Human Dignification (CDH) speak with migrants who left a caravan bound for the United States, in the city of Mapastepec, Chiapas state, Mexico, December 30, 2023
Border agents apprehended migrants at the southern border more than 302,000 times in December — the most in a single month in history. In 2020 there were only 400,000 crossings for the entire year.
With the trip, Republicans in the House of Representatives are placing the border issue front and center for the start of the new year.
In Eagle Pass, the local fire department is underwater financially as it is forced to spend as much as $21,000 a day on migrant-related emergencies, according to Eagle Pass Fire Chief Manuel Mello.
“There isn't a day when we don't go to the riverbank to transport patients, and the city covers the costs,” Mello told Fox News. The department has spent $2.2 million responding to migrant-related calls since mid-September. It only had a budget of $6.3 million in fiscal year 2023.
Gonzales has said the federal government has not reimbursed Eagle Pass for the costs of the migration wave.
The migrant attack forced the city to shudder at railroad crossings in December so that Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) personnel could be rerouted “to assist the U.S. Border Patrol in taking migrants into custody.”
In December, Johnson sent a letter urging President Biden to use executive powers to immediately stem the flow of migration.
The speaker instructed the president to end “catch-and-release,” under which migrants found between ports of entry should be turned away and only be used on a “case-by-case basis” conditional release.
He also called on the president to reinstate Trump-era policies such as building the wall, reinstating the Remain in Mexico program and expanding expedited removal for those who cannot prove eligibility for asylum.
Johnson even urged Biden to suspend all immigration — using his authority under Section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This provision allows the president to indefinitely suspend the entry of foreign citizens if admitting them is deemed “detrimental” to U.S. interests.
Late last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to discuss the migration crisis.
And before Christmas, the Democratic-led Senate flew out of town without hammering home the details of the sweeping immigration and foreign aid package.
Border agents stopped about 300,000 migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in December
Biden has asked Congress for $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, but Republicans are refusing to approve the aid without an agreement with Democrats to tighten security along the U.S.-Mexico border. His request also includes $14 billion for Israel to fight Hamas and $14 billion for U.S. border security.
Biden and his Democrats have begun making major concessions on border security to try to strike a deal, including raising standards for asylum seekers and expanding the president's power to quickly remove migrants crossing the border.
But no deal has been struck yet.
Thousands more were expected to arrive in the coming days in the form of a massive migrant caravan making its way through Mexico to the southern border. Video and photos show the massive march with families carrying large crosses and their belongings on the journey to the US.
Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill making it a crime to enter the state illegally, a move that further empowers local law enforcement authorities to arrest migrants at the border.
Local authorities have already arrested migrants on charges of state crimes under Abbott's Operation Lone Star immigration program. The new law is expected to come into effect in March.
Abbott previously ordered the installation of a 1,000-foot floating barrier in Eagle Pass and the installation of barbed wire near the Rio Grande to prevent migrants from entering once they cross the river. Both measures were overturned by the courts.
Abbott has also bused thousands of migrants to liberal-ruled cities such as New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver and Los Angeles.