Washington, D.C. — Congressman Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, released the following statement after initiating a bipartisan congressional delegation of Energy and Commerce Committee members to tour immigration facilities and shelters in the southern border towns of McAllen and Brownsville.

Throughout Monday, the delegation visited a Customs and Border Protection Processing Center and an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Center. These Members of Congress completed a tour of the border and a port of entry, and received briefings from Department of Homeland Security staff. The delegation also visited a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement shelter for unaccompanied children in Brownsville.

“Yesterday a bipartisan group of Members of Congress traveled to McAllen and Brownsville to witness firsthand the situation on our southern border. I am grateful that fellow members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, including several of whom were visiting for the first time, joined me for this trip. As we focus on reforming our nation’s immigration laws, it is important to have an accurate understanding of the border facilities and the federal departments for which we maintain oversight. We saw every step in the process, from apprehension along the border and processing to placement in a shelter. In addition, we had a productive visit to a shelter for unaccompanied children.

“Similar to my recent visit at a Department of Health and Human Services shelter in Tornillo, I once again saw children receiving excellent, professional care from HHS staff. This wasn’t my first trip to the border, and it certainly won’t be my last. Moving forward, I will continue to work with Secretary Azar, the Department of Health and Human Services, and fellow Members of Congress to ensure that all children entrusted to federal custody receive excellent care.”

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