Texas Insider Report: McALLEN, Texas – Congressmen Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) on Wednesday joined Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) for a tour of the Texas-Mexico border in the Rio Grande Valley.
They toured Border Patrol’s Donna Temporary Processing Center, the Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) Delphi Emergency Intake Site, the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge, and met with local elected officials, stakeholders and law enforcement officials.
They also held a joint press conference at the McAllen-Hidalgo International Bridge.- To watch the press conference, click here.
- View photos from the tour here.
“America is a country built on immigrants, but we are also a nation of laws,” said Congressman Gonzales (above, far right,) at the press conference.
“Our sensible legislation tackles both of those aspects. Border security isn’t a new topic for us living and working along the border, but it is a growing crisis and it is growing out of control.
"I’m proud to be part of this group both in the Senate and the House, that have come together to roll up our sleeves to tackle this issue.”
“Our sensible legislation tackles both of those aspects. Border security isn’t a new topic for us living and working along the border, but it is a growing crisis and it is growing out of control.
"I’m proud to be part of this group both in the Senate and the House, that have come together to roll up our sleeves to tackle this issue.”
In May, Congressmen Gonzales and Cuellar, and Senators Cornyn and Sinema introduced the Bipartisan Border Solutions Act, which is the only bipartisan, bicameral legislation that responds to the surge in migrants coming across our southern border.
The bill would:
- Improve both the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) and the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) capacity to manage migration influxes and adjudicate asylum claims in a timely manner
- Protect unaccompanied migrant children
- Reduce impact on local communities
- Ensure migrants are treated fairly and humanely, and
- Ultimately deter those who do not have realistic asylum claims from placing themselves in danger by making the treacherous journey to our southern border
Last week, they also sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas urging DHS to re-open the land ports of entry like the McAllen-Hidalgo Port of Entry they visited today.
