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Republicans turn up pressure on Democratic leaders to visit southern border

April 13, 2021

 Republican Study Committee members demanded Democratic leadership to visit the southern border and see the consequences of reversing Trump-era immigration policies firsthand.

Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson told reporters, “Speaker Pelosi needs to come here too. Because, just yesterday, she said things are moving in the right direction. ... Well, law enforcement officials are telling us otherwise."

Rep. Chris Jacobs, a New York Republican, implored, "President Biden and Vice President Harris need to come down here and need to come down here now."

Eight members of the conservative RSC, led by Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana, made several stops in the Del Rio Border Patrol sector Thursday and were briefed by officials about the surge of illegal immigrants crossing the border on a routine basis. Lawmakers say officials they met with see a drastic spike of migrants illegally crossing the border and want the Biden administration to keep the Trump-era Title 42 immigration policy in place.

"I call on the vice president to come right here as well and hold these kinds of conversations — and the president. They really need to understand the impact that their policies are having on these border towns and border cities all across Texas as well. So, they should be here," Pennsylvania Rep. Lloyd Smucker said. "They should be here to see firsthand the impact of their policies."

Donald Trump's policies worked. The statistics show that while numbers are flat line at 2020, the numbers are sharply rising exponentially in 2021, meaning every figure that we've seen in the books for a decade or more,” Banks told the Washington Examiner. “It seems like common sense to many of us that we should learn the lessons that we learned from the Trump administration and enact those policies like ending catch and release.”

The Trump administration mandated strict immigration policies that ended “catch and release” protocols for those apprehended entering illegally. In January 2019, Trump established the "Remain in Mexico" policy that forced migrants to stay in Mexico to wait out their asylum hearings.

Under Title 42, the Trump-era policy relies on a 1944 public health regulation to shut down the border to nonessential travel in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. However, the Biden administration is still allowing illegal immigrants to cross the border unchecked.

Banks noted, “The Border Patrol agents are really worried about title 42 being eliminated altogether. They're saying do not eliminate Title 42 because it works. 'Don't do away with it. We need it.' We heard that.”

Lawmakers met with Border Patrol officials at Eagle Pass South Station, Del Rio Border Patrol Leadership, Eagle Pass law enforcement, and regional sheriffs.

Border officials and law enforcement officers told lawmakers that residents of their communities are fearful of the current circumstances as they receive calls from them about migrants wandering on to private properties and into homes.

“My citizens, they're scared that when they go home, they're gonna have to use deadly force. We have kids that get off the bus. There's nobody at home. They're scared. So, we’re trying to limit the liabilities,” a local sheriff told the lawmakers.

Rep. Tony Gonzalez, a Texas Republican, hosted the GOP members in his Del Rio district. He responded to allegations that sexual assaults took place at a federal migrant holding facility in San Antonio.

“The allegations are disturbing, to say the least. I think a full investigation needs to take place,” he said. “On Friday, I will be touring the Freeman Coliseum to see that firsthand, but this is part of the dangers of what happens when you pop up migrant facilities across the state and across the country. We open ourselves up for issues, both short-term and long-term issues.”