Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), headed to the chamber for votes, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 25, 2021. They and other Senate Republicans are part of a delegation visiting the Texas-Mexico border in response to the immigration crisis there. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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UPDATED 3:50 PM PT – Friday, March 26, 2021
The Senate Republican Delegation toured the Rio Grande River along the southern border to witness the Biden border crisis first hand.
On Friday, the group of 18 GOP senators went on ride-alongs with Customs and Border Protection, as Joe Biden continues to be vague on when he will visit the border to see the migrant surge for himself.
Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz led the delegation on private tours of the Donna, Texas migrant facility. The two criticized the White House for continuing to deny access to the press.
They saw unaccompanied minors cramped together, some infected with COVID-19.
Day two from the border—this is a pod that’s designed to hold 80 people that’s currently holding 709. pic.twitter.com/rKLH5urdyh
— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) March 26, 2021
The lawmakers also said the humanitarian crisis was a direct result of Biden’s decision to end Trump-era border policies.
“The Border Patrol and Health and Human Services and the non-governmental organizations that are struggling to deal with this flood of humanity tell us they cannot get ahead of this flood of humanity without policy changes in Washington, D.C.,” Cornyn stated. “The smugglers, the drug runners, they understand our laws and they know how to exploit them to their benefit. So in the end, catch and release, making sure people with legitimate claims get to present them to an immigration judge, I think should be a priority. And then perhaps we can begin to look at other parts of our broken immigration system.”
Basic message: Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection, Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement working 24/7 to address crisis. What they need is better policy from Washington. https://t.co/xxa7YoEBs5
— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) March 26, 2021
“The Biden administration is taking people who are testing positive for COVID-19 and locking them in cages side by side,” Cruz explained. “This is inhumane. It is wrong, and it is the direct consequence of policy decisions by the Biden administration to stop building the wall, to return to catch and release and to end the stay in Mexico policy.”
The border crisis is a man-made crisis that is a direct consequence of President Biden’s decisions to stop building the wall, to return to catch and release, and to end the stay in Mexico policy.#SecureTheBorder #BidenBorderCrisis pic.twitter.com/HnwOyZ0HgV
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) March 26, 2021
This came amid reports that more than 16,000 unaccompanied minors were in federal custody as of Thursday, with about 5,000 in substandard facilities.
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