Immigration

House Democrats boycott committee trip to inspect border crisis

Published

7 days ago

March 15, 2023

After a Facebook message linked to the cartel prompted over a thousand migrants to rush the U.S. southern border into El Paso on Sunday, Democrats are still showing their negligence when it comes to border security.

Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., has confirmed that no Democratic members of the House Homeland Security Committee will attend the planned trip to McAllen, Texas, on Wednesday.

“It’s deeply disappointing that the Minority members of the Committee have chosen to bail on this week’s full committee field hearing in Texas, only after they invited and confirmed a minority witness for one of the panels,” Green said in a statement.

“The only message their absence sends is that they are uninterested in coming to the table to have a conversation about the devastation that this border crisis is having on Americans and their communities across the country. We will continue to encourage our Democrat colleagues to get out of the DC echo chamber and meet Americans where they are to discuss the biggest issues facing them.”

Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-MS) claimed that Democrats will not participate because “it has become clear that Republicans planned to politicize this event from the start.”

NEW: Migrants involved in the attempted mass rushing of the Paso Del Norte bridge in El Paso yesterday tell us catalysts were frustrations with the CBPOne app, and this false rumor on Facebook telling migrants they would be allowed into the US at the bridge on Sunday. The post… https://t.co/l39KWSZfJj pic.twitter.com/XlaGhzB5eG

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) March 13, 2023

BREAKING: Our contact in Juarez, MX tells us a massive group of at least 1,000 migrants just attempted to rush a port of entry in El Paso in an effort to get into the United States. Video shows them pushing past the Mexican side of Paso Del Norte bridge. Awaiting CBP comment. pic.twitter.com/lxriIB3TSm

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) March 12, 2023

All Democrats on the House Homeland Security committee are boycotting Wednesday’s field hearing on the border crisis here in the RGV. They will be missing out on testimony from United States Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, @USBPChief, who is set to testify as a federal witness.

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) March 13, 2023

Past 72 Hours…
– 14,431 Apprehensions
– 24 lbs. of Fentanyl Powder
– 11 lbs. of Fentanyl Pills
– $58,000 Seized
– 9 Firearms
– 3 Rescues
– 1 Narcotic Warrant
– 1 Sex Offender

Another weekend of money, guns, and drugs!
Great work by our boots on the ground! pic.twitter.com/TkVDIKrvsx

— Chief Raul Ortiz (@USBPChief) March 13, 2023

Immigration

Texas, U.S. officials warn Americans not to travel to Mexico as cartel violence escalates

Published

13 hours ago

March 21, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

The State Department continues to warn Americans not to travel to Mexico due to increased crime, violence and cartel activity. Last August the department warned specifically that Americans should not go to six Mexican states and to “reconsider” traveling to others.

Earlier this month, Texas DPS Director Steven McCraw said “Drug cartel violence and other criminal activity represent a significant safety threat to anyone who crosses into Mexico right now.”

“We have a duty to inform the public about safety, travel risks and threats. Based on the volatile nature of cartel activity and the violence we are seeing there, we are urging individuals to avoid travel to Mexico at this time” he continued.

The U.S. State Department and Texas Department of Public Safety say the warning is not just for spring breakers, as over 558 Americans have been reported and are still missing in Mexico. According to the Washington Post, the number is up from 324 reported in 2020, which the Post says is “almost certainly an undercount.”

“Soaring violence and government dysfunction have fueled a crisis that’s left at least 112,150 people missing,” reports the Post pointing to its 2020 analysis of people missing by country of origin.

At the time in 2020, notes the Post, it was “the worst crisis of the disappeared in Latin America since the Cold War, when military-backed governments kidnapped and secretly killed their leftist opponents – an estimated 45,000 in Guatemala, up to 30,000 in Argentina, as many as 3,400 in Chile. And Mexico’s numbers keep rising. … Mexicans are uncovering two clandestine graves a day, on average.”

The Center Square writes:

Those who don’t heed Texas DPS or State Department travel warnings are urged to register with a U.S. Embassy or Consulate prior to leaving. While DPS says it understands that “many people do travel to Mexico without incident … serious risks … cannot be ignored” and Americans must “consider postponing or canceling travel to Mexico.”