A group of migrants attempting to cross the southern border into Texas could be seen just feet away from congressional Republicans discussing the border crisis on Wednesday.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and 60 other House Republicans visited Eagle Pass, Texas, on Wednesday to discuss the worsening border and migrant crisis. During one leg of the visit, congressional members watched in real-time as groups of migrants attempted to cross into the United States from Mexico via the Rio Grande River.
Johnson and Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw can be seen talking on the U.S. side of the river bank while migrants wade through the stream in their direction, as depicted from footage captured by Fox News. Some migrants yelled and waved at the congressional members while they were crossing.
House Republicans were visiting Eagle Pass, a highly trafficked corridor for migrants looking to enter the U.S., to address their concerns that the Biden administration has thus far failed to secure the border against a surge of illegal immigration. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded over 2 million migrant encounters during fiscal year 2023; 300,000 encounters were tracked in December alone, the highest monthly number ever recorded.
Congress is currently mulling over a border security deal while the Biden administration continues to push for a new funding package for Ukraine and Israel. House Republicans warned the Biden administration that they would not sign off on further funding for Ukraine unless some sort of border package was included.
The White House has blamed House Republicans for the border crisis, claiming that President Joe Biden has offered “record-breaking” border security funding tied to Ukraine, Israel and Gaza aid in a $106 billion supplemental package. Biden has scolded Republicans for taking time off over the holidays during a “crisis” despite the fact the president himself just returned from a week-long holiday.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jake Smith on January 3, 2024
