Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) announced that they’re leading a group of eight senators—three Democrats, four Republicans, and one independent—to the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 9 and 10, to observe what Sinema called “Washington’s failure.”
Those joining Sinema and Cornyn include Sens. James Lankford (R-Okla.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and Chris Coons (D-Del.).
After the meeting, the senators will be shown the accommodations and services for illegal immigrants on the premises, and there will be a joint press conference.
The senators plan to discuss federal and state efforts of border management with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the National Border Patrol Council, the Texas National Guard, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Next, the senators will take a two-day tour of the southern border from Texas to Arizona. The senators will visit the El Paso Central Processing Center and the Del Norte port of entry, followed by a night tour of the border accompanied by law enforcement. On Jan. 10, the senators will continue their tour to the Arizona-Mexico border region in Yuma.
Murphy, chair of the Appropriations subcommittee that writes the budget for the Department of Homeland Security, stated, “Congress has to get serious about finding a bipartisan solution that will protect our border from legitimate threats like cartel smuggling operations, treat families and children humanely, and preserve the rights of asylum seekers.”
Tillis deplored the humanitarian crisis at the border and the “historic illegal entries and massive amounts of dangerous drugs being smuggled into our country.”
“It’s time to get serious about enforcing the law and supporting our Border Patrol,” Lankford said. “President Biden stated yesterday that he plans to meet with Border Patrol to find out what they need while he is at the border. I hope that he listens.”
Coons said he hopes that the trip signifies “the start of a serious, bipartisan process that will produce safe, orderly, humane, and fair solutions.”
Moran thanked Sinema and Cornyn for their initiative. As a ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science, he said that he hopes to soon see concrete measures to resolve what he called a “humanitarian, public health and national security crisis.”
