Today on Fox News, contributor Griff Jenkins reported on Senator Portman’s trip to El Paso, Texas, last night to witness firsthand the migrant crisis at the southern border. Jenkins accompanied Portman as he visited with the National Border Patrol Council and saw how the Border Patrol deploys and integrates agents, sensors, horse patrols, and aerial surveillance to secure the southern border.
In an interview with Fox News, Portman said: “We also talked to some of the people who they apprehended, and they all told me the same thing, which is they can make a lot more money here in this country than they can back home. That’s understandable, but we have a legal system to be able to do that. That increase is something we’ve got to deal with. We’ve got to change some of the rules, but also we’ve got to help the Border Patrol to do their job.”
In addition, Senator Portman and Jenkins spoke with migrants last night who attempted to cross the border into the United States. When asked whether those coming in would heed the new administration’s request to not come to the border, one man responded, “It’s not going to stop. Ever. Not going to stop. It’s not going to stop.”
Portman also commented on what he hopes to discuss with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas today as they tour a detention facility together. Portman said, “We’ll be looking at some of the issues including this huge problem with unaccompanied kids coming across the border. Those numbers have increased even more dramatically. We have a true crisis in detention facilities. There is not enough room for them and appropriate places for them to be held.”
Portman expressed concern about the effect of President Biden’s actions earlier this month when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released operational statistics regarding the crisis at our southern border showing a massive increase of 62 percent of more than 9,500 unaccompanied children making the dangerous journey to our southern border in February 2021. The crisis is only exacerbated by the reality that Border Patrol is also currently struggling to retain agents due to the overwhelming, record-breaking number of migrants and drugs crossing into the United States.
Videos of the coverage of Portman’s visit to El Paso can be found here, here, and here.
