A delegation from the Senate headed to the United States-Mexican border this week in Texas and Arizona to explore issues related to security and humanitarian and economic challenges in the region and related to larger immigration concerns.
The group, which included U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy (D-CN), chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security; John Cornyn (R-TX); Thom Tillis (R-NC); Mark Kelly (D-AZ); James Lankford (R-OK); Chris Coons (D-DE); Jerry Moran (R-KS); and Krysten Sinema (I-AZ), met with local law enforcement, community leaders and nonprofit organizations working with asylum seekers departing border control’s custody.
“Congress has to get serious about finding a bipartisan solution that will protect our border from the legitimate threats like cartel smuggling operations, treat families and children humanely, and preserve the rights of asylum seekers,” Murphy said. “That’s why I’m joining this group of bipartisan Senators to learn more about what people living in border communities and those who make the dangerous journey to the border are experiencing. Many of us have found common ground on difficult issues before, and I hope we can work together on the challenge of immigration reform.”
He added that there was a particular interest in seeing how the programs Congress funds at the Department of Homeland Security are being implemented. To that end, they traveled to El Paso, Texas, and Yuma, Ariz. – areas firmly within the bubble of what many critics of existing border policy, such as Cornyn and Tillis, have labeled a humanitarian and national security crisis. Others, like Kelly, pointed to the importance of such trips to understand a broken immigration system and find a way to a secure yet humane border response.
All seemed to agree on one point: communities in the region are under strain.
“The humanitarian and national security crisis at our southern border has created untenable and unacceptable challenges for Texas communities along the U.S.-Mexico border, which is why I’m glad my colleagues from across the country will see the impacts of this firsthand,” Cornyn said. “On this visit, we will hear from the men and women working around the clock to manage the strain of this crisis, and I hope this will result in meaningful discussions about finally securing our border and giving these communities tangible relief.”
The trip lasted two days, from Monday, Jan. 9, to Tuesday, Jan. 10.