Rep. Burgess to Newsmax: Border Situation Worst in My 20 Years in Office
Washington,
December 30, 2021
By Sandy Fitzgerald
Rep. Michael Burgess has been representing Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives for almost 20 years, but he told Newsmax Tuesday that this year, under President Joe Biden, has been the worst he's experienced as far as the number of people entering the United States illegally. "2014 was my first trip down on this issue because of the rapid influx of migrant children and at that time I think the numbers were 140,000," the Texas Republican said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "This number now for the year is going to be 10 times that. I've never seen it this bad." The issue is the "organization" that is taking place on the other side of the border, with coyotes and smugglers working to get immigrants as well as illegal substances like fentanyl across the border. "We had the story from a few weeks ago where someone had to pay $3,000" for the last leg of the journey to get across the border, and "that's the kind of monetization the coyotes are extracting right now," said Burgess. Part of the issue is that there is work going on both sides of the border to get drugs across the border, said Burgess, adding that it will take shutting down the "money tree" that has come from the transfer of fentanyl to help to stop the facilitators who are bringing people across the border and into the United States. "It is a phenomenal amount of money that they are paid to get someone across," Burgess said. "The consequence is that it just generates more business for them. They monetize that." The cartels are also broadcasting their services for getting people across the border in other countries around the world, not just in Central America, said Burgess. The congressman also commented that separations of children and adults have not stopped during the Biden administration. "Under current law, if it is someone other than a mother or a father who arrives with a child, the child is placed in the custody of the United States government, the Office of Refugee Resettlement," said Burgess. "Are we going to come back and pay reparations to all those people? I can't believe that would happen, but I can't believe the problem is as bad as it is." Meanwhile, there is not a vaccination or test mandate for people coming across the nation's southern border, and Burgess said congressional Democrats stopped a provision for testing the migrants. "In February, when they did the big reconciliation bill to crush the coronavirus, our doctors' caucus had an amendment saying that at that time, vaccines weren't readily available, but to test everyone who's coming across," said Burgess. "That amendment was rejected on party lines by congressional Democrats. At the same time if you're coming from another country legally on a transatlantic flight, guess what happens? You get tested before you get on the plane." |
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