House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries asked other House Democrats to take a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border to better understand the situation brought about by the Biden border crisis. He wants them to gain a better understanding of what federal law enforcement and local communities face every day before they try to push immigration reform in Congress.
Jeffries visited the district of Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) in the Laredo area on Friday. He is on a multiday tour of the region to learn about the humanitarian crisis and the fentanyl epidemic that has resulted from the porous border during the Biden administration. Cuellar has been a rare voice among House Democrats focusing on the crises on the border and urging the Biden administration to secure the border. His calls to the White House are usually ignored. Nonetheless, Cuellar persists and he is to be applauded for that. He knows what he is talking about.
I’m not sure why but it looks as though Cuellar may finally be getting the attention of some of his colleagues. It’s unclear why Democrats are now curious about the humanitarian crisis and the pouring of fentanyl into the country by drug cartels when the situation has been developing since Biden came into office. Is it finally the fentanyl epidemic that is killing record numbers of young adults that captured their attention? Or is it because they know Democrats are vulnerable to border security and there is a presidential election coming up in 2024 where illegal immigration will be an issue? Most likely it is because Democrats want “comprehensive immigration reform” which Speaker McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader McConnell have both said will not be taken up by Republicans until the southern border is secured. First things first.
“We do need comprehensive immigration reform that is both humane, but also respects the rule of law and the traditions of public safety and the importance of that for border communities,” Jeffries said during a press conference at the port of entry Friday afternoon. “I’m going to continue to encourage my colleagues in Washington as part of trying to arrive at a comprehensive solution to take a field trip, come down to the border communities to speak to the people who experience life at the border.”
Jeffries said his biggest takeaway so far was that U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who inspect traffic passing through land, sea, and airports needed more technology to be able to inspect all vehicles and people coming through every day. Officers in Laredo, the largest inland port in the country, were not able to scan the inside of all vehicles due to a lack of technology and time.
“It was very enlightening to see the importance of how that technology is being deployed to try and secure the border to try to make sure that contraband is interdicted appropriately and to supplement the limitations of manpower resources,” Jeffries said. “Almost all of the stakeholders within the law enforcement community, the federal level, all over at the city and the county level have made clear that it’s that technology that’s been helpful.”
Whatever the reason, welcome to the party, pal. Cuellar and Republicans have been asking for help along the border since Biden created the border crisis. Border state governors have essentially been left on their own to do what they can to deal with what is happening in their states. Texas has been the epicenter of the Biden border crisis yet Biden and his border czar, Kamala Harris, have only made single half-assed trips to non-RGV areas to get a photo opportunity or two in the press. Nothing changes. It’s all for the show so they can say that they have been to the border without actually going to the Rio Grande Valley. It’s a slap in the face to Border Patrol agents and those tasked with law enforcement duties along the border.
Will more House Democrats take a “road trip” to the border? We’ll see. The House Judiciary Committee is making good on its pledge to hold border crisis hearings. The hearings begin next week in Arizona. The Democrats on that committee have already said they will not be in attendance. They are going to boycott the hearing next week because they claim that Republicans did not consult them on it.
The hearing is scheduled for next Thursday in Yuma, Arizona. Speaker McCarthy was in Arizona to tour its border with a delegation of freshman Republican House members this week, right before Hakeem Jeffries showed up in Laredo with Cuellar. House Democrats call the hearing in Yuma a stunt. Was Jeffries’ trip to the border a stunt?
“Instead of focusing on real solutions to a complicated problem, Judiciary Republicans will once again not hear from any federal government witnesses at their hearing, further cementing this hearing as a brazen act of political grandstanding,” ranking member Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said in a statement. “As a result, Democrats, who have been to the border regularly the last few years, will not attend next week’s performative hearing.
The Democrats said they will conduct their trip to the border in March.
Republicans, however, denied that they had not consulted Democrats on the hearing.
“We gave the Democrats three weeks’ notice about the border hearing when we are technically only required to give them one week notice,” a senior GOP aide told Fox News Digital, adding that they had been in communication with staff via phone, email, and text.
“All of the Democrats were invited to come, but not one could find time to attend an official congressional hearing.”
“Democrats have asked if it was acceptable for them to send a staffer on the trip. How did the Democrat staffer find out about the trip if they weren’t consulted?” the aide added.
McCarthy and House Republicans should make a big deal out of the unwillingness of Democrats to cooperate with a hearing along the border. It might enlighten some of them who likely have not been to the southern border. Let them see firsthand what is going on and hear from the people who have to deal with the Biden border crisis.
Discussion about this post