GOP officials get a bird’s eye view of migrants crossing the border on a border tour and consider legislative fixes to tackle the crisis

A delegation of Republican lawmakers from the House Homeland Security Committee this week visited the southern border in El Paso, Texas, and got a first-hand look at the ongoing crisis on the southern border as part of an effort to inform anti-crisis legislation. .

The committee held a “frontier boot camp” ahead of a hearing in Washington, D.C. next week and a hearing at the frontier next month. Republicans stressed the need to see communities affected by the crisis in person and for lawmakers to know the ins and outs of the issue to help create effective legislation.

Representative Nick LaLota, R-NY., told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the trip was “very informative.”

“I was familiar with many statistics and figures about how the Biden administration failed us at the border. But being able to see it first hand and see the hard work of our Border Patrol agents is now very inspiring to me,” he said in an interview. border.”

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The legislators witnessed the arrest of drug traffickers while visiting the port of entry, inspected parts of the incomplete border wall, and aerially flew over the border in a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) helicopter.

During this flight, they witnessed illegal immigrants waiting for nightfall to cross the border, but the group then ran back south from the border after seeing the helicopter. House Homeland Security Chairman Rep. Mark Green said the images taken by his lawmakers contradicted the Biden administration’s claim that the border was secure.

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“This is what happens at the border EVERY DAY,” Green wrote. “Our border is NOT guarded.”

The delegation’s trip comes days after Republicans from the Judiciary Committee traveled to the southern border to hold an in-person hearing in Yuma, Arizona. The Homeland Security Committee will hold hearings on March 15 in McAllen, Texas.

Numbers on the border skyrocketed shortly after the Biden administration came to power and have remained high ever since. There were over 1.7 million encounters of migrants at the border in FY21 and over 2.3 million in FY22. To date, there have been over one million appointments in fiscal year 2023, which began in October.

The visits to the border by Republicans, as well as some Democrats, come amid a dispute between the Biden administration and Republicans in Congress over who is to blame for the crisis. The Biden administration has said it is tackling the hemispheric issue and making progress on newly announced border measures that have reduced numbers at the border over the past month.

The administration called on Congress to approve additional border funding and pass a sweeping immigration reform measure that includes a path to citizenship for the millions of illegal immigrants already in the country. He also recently announced a new asylum rule that makes certain migrants who illegally cross the border ineligible for asylum.

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“America’s border issues will not be resolved until Congress makes a decision. If he doesn’t accept my comprehensive immigration reform, he will at least accept my plan to provide equipment and officers to guard the border. And a path to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers and essential workers,” Biden said in his address to Congress.

Republicans have rejected the call for citizenship and continue to blame the Biden administration for abandoning Trump-era policies, narrowing domestic enforcement, and what they see as a failure to enforce US immigration law. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives vowed to hold the administration accountable and even considered impeaching Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Majorcas.

LaLota told Fox that he met with Border Patrol agents and saw how low their morale was after a two-year crisis.

“They have low morale,” he said. “As a group, they are not getting the support they deserve from the Biden administration, and frankly, that needs to change, and needs to change right now.“

He said that while Republicans are likely to pass additional legislation in the coming weeks, the Biden administration also needs to step up.

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“The committee is going to present a comprehensive bill that deals with staffing, technology, resources and does everything that needs to be done at the border,” he said. “But what we cannot do is force Biden to take the lead on this issue. He and Secretary of State Mallorcas must find that leadership on their own. This is the key missing element, and only he can provide it.”