After travelling last week to the United States-Mexico border to learn firsthand about the immigration crisis there, U.S. Reps. Michael Burgess (R-TX) and Paul Mitchell (R-MI) said Congress must quickly intervene to help solve mounting challenges.
“There is a humanitarian and security crisis on the border,” Rep. Burgess said. “Enacting effective border security and addressing the loopholes in law that incentivize illegal migration is the only way forward.”
“This bipartisan trip has reinforced my view that our systems to deal with both routine immigration and the asylum system are broken,” said Rep. Mitchell, who travelled to the border with the Problem Solvers Caucus. “We must take concrete steps to address the humanitarian crisis and national security risks at our nation’s border.”
Rep. Mitchell and members of the Problem Solvers Caucus visited facilities including points of entry, a border patrol station, a family unit detention facility, an unaccompanied minor care facility, and a centralized processing center, as well as the physical border where they participated in briefings and discussions with experts on the ground.
Rep. Burgess, ranking member of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, traveled to the Clint Border Patrol Station near El Paso, Texas, a short-term processing center operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“At Clint, it is clear that the sheer volume of people entering the facility is overwhelming CBP’s ability to process migrants quickly, as intended,” said Rep. Burgess, adding that he intends “to prioritize oversight of border operations and hold CBP accountable for meeting our standard of care.”
But in the meantime, he said Congress must ensure the CBP and other federal agencies involved in border operations have ample resources to fulfill their missions.
Rep. Mitchell agreed, saying Congress must act quickly on a comprehensive solution.
“I value the experience of viewing this situation first-hand,” Rep. Mitchell said. “I believe my colleagues and I will be able to take the insight and feedback we gained from this trip to craft policy solutions that address the serious national security and humanitarian issues at the border.”