House Speaker Mike Johnson and dozens of Republican members of Congress on Wednesday visited Eagle Pass, Texas — one of the most heavily-crossed sections of the U.S.-Mexico border.
"Last month alone, we saw the most illegal crossings in recorded history. It is an unmitigated disaster, a catastrophe," Johnson said at a press conference on Wednesday. It was his first visit to the border as speaker. "And what's more tragic is that it's a disaster of the president's own design."
Johnson called for a return to Trump-era immigration policies to deter migration at the border.
“This administration should reinstate the Remain in Mexico policy, rather than expanding parole authority to an unprecedented scale. The president should end catch and release and stop the abuse of our parole and asylum systems," he said.
The city of just under 30,000 people, about 140 miles southwest of San Antonio, was once considered a remote port of entry. Eagle Pass is now at the center of the GOP's political fight with President Joe Biden over immigration. It’s also been in the news for the suffering of migrants captured in tragic photos and videos.
Johnson one-upped his Republican colleagues in the Senate, who have tied stricter immigration restrictions to foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan.
He said House Republicans are willing to shut down the government if negotiations between the Biden administration and Senate Republicans don't go far enough to stop migration.
“If President Biden wants a supplemental spending bill focused on national security, it better begin by defending America’s national security. It begins right here on our southern border,” Johnson said.
The GOP lawmakers met with local officials in Eagle Pass, who say they have been overwhelmed by the thousands of migrants who have crossed in recent weeks. They also met with state officials who are a part of Gov. Greg Abbott's controversial Operation Lone Star border security program meant to deter illegal immigration.
However, they chose not to accept an invitation from the Eagle Pass Border Coalition to visit an exhibition that pays tribute to the known number of migrants who died in 2023.
“To stand there on over half an acre of crosses is a powerful and poignant reminder of the human cost of the current border policies and practices.” said Amerika Garcia-Grewal, an organizer with the Eagle Pass Border Coalition.
She said deterrence policies instituted by the State of Texas — including concertina wire along the Rio Grande, state law enforcement patrols, and high speed chases — have not stopped migrants from showing up while making her community feel less safe.
“To date there have been $10.5 billion spent in Texas, and it doesn't work. Deterrence policies don't work, and we're seeing the results written in blood," Garcia-Grewal said.
The GOP has made immigration its top issue ahead of the 2024 election. And the politics of immigration have become toxic, said Blas Nuñez-Nieto, assistant secretary for border and immigration policy at the Department of Homeland Security.
Nuñez-Nieto told TPR on Wednesday that playing politics isn’t going to find the solutions that are clearly needed — including things the lawmakers can control, like funding for law enforcement at the border.
“I’m hopeful that they, as a result of the trip, really understand the needs to provide the resources that have been requested and to support the men and women on the frontlines and also to update and modernize our immigration system,” he said.
Recently, U.S. Customs and Border Protection had to shut down several ports of entry, including in Eagle Pass, in order to divert personnel to process asylum requests.
CBP said the rise in migration that started before Christmas was the result of human smugglers "peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals" and their use of rail cars to transport migrants through Mexico.
RAICES, a San Antonio-based immigrant rights organization, called the GOP's Eagle Pass border visit "nothing more than incendiary political theater to dehumanize and stoke anti-immigrant fear" against those fleeing persecution, economic and political instability, violence, and the effects of climate change across Central and South America.
"It is abundantly clear that there’s nothing off the table when it comes to negotiating away the rights of anyone pursuing safety and a future in the U.S." said RAICES spokesperson Faisal Al-Juburi. "Our lawmakers are more than willing to erode the federal policies that govern our country and endanger the lives of families and people brave enough to fight for their dignity and security."
