Republicans on the House Economic Disparities Subcommittee chastised their Democratic counterparts for flying all the way to McAllen, Texas, to discuss infrastructure without seeing border operations.
The House Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Growth Fairness held its first field hearing at the southern boundary of this Congress in South Texas. Locals who live in ‘colonias,’ unorganized villages that lack basic utilities like running water, paved roads, and concrete foundations under their homes, spoke to the full committee.
Observed the entire committee meeting and took part in a nocturnal ride-along tour and a daylight boat tour of the Rio Grande with border officers and Republican committee members, but Democrats did not view the facilities.
‘We’re here at the Democrats’ request; they chose a special hearing in the field near the border, but they won’t discuss the border.’ Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., told DailyMail.com that they want to talk about green energy and infrastructure.
During the field hearing, Democrats and Republicans took time to hear from local residents of colonias in Texas Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez’s district who spoke about flooding issues in South Texas, where residents said their own homes would frequently take on water and the streets outside would be flooded for three days even during mild storms due to insufficient drainage structures.
Local people face health risks as a result of the concerns; one man stated during a committee roundtable that his wife takes at least one of their three children to the doctor every week for a sinus infection.
Community groups said that resolving drainage concerns would require $600 million in additional infrastructure financing.
Republicans were hesitant to sign on to cash that was not included in last year’s bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure measure. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., stated, “If we’re going to go through infrastructure spending again, we have to go through rigorous work to target red-level projects.”
Meanwhile, Texas has spent $2 billion of its own money on border security as part of Operation Lonestar. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wisc., suggested that if Texas didn’t have to use the money for border security, it could spend it for infrastructure.
‘If the federal government were to step up and secure the border, there would be more monies available to solve many of the issues we heard about, including internet connectivity and flood management.’ We need to be much more careful about how we spend our money.’
Last year, Gov. Greg Abbott introduced Lonestar, which has been criticized for wasting resources by deploying the National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) to areas where they have no authority because border protection is handled by the federal government.
Meanwhile, following a record 239,000 apprehensions at the southern border last month, Republicans chastised Democrats for prioritizing infrastructure over border security.
‘To our left-wing colleagues, if you cared about the kids the way you profess to care about the kids, and the kids in cages, you’d be here,’ Cammack said after a boat tour of the Rio Grande, where migrants cross in rafts from Mexico into the United States. ‘Real people are being injured.’
‘That is why I cannot call Biden commander-in-chief, because he is the trafficker-in-chief,’ Cammack said bluntly regarding Biden. He’s doing the cartels’ dirty work, and it has to stop.’
Smugglers have become more daring, according to one border official, who has recently seen improvised ferries used to ferry cars across the river.
Smugglers are estimated to make $100 million every week transporting migrants to the border, often robbing and rapping them along the route, according to Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman Lt. Chris Olivarez.
According to him, the cost per person varies, with individuals from Latin America paying $3-4,000 to be led to the border. Chinese nationals hauled in between $30,000 and $40,000 per person on occasion.
As she was being detained by agents, Amy, a 14-year-old girl, informed DailyMail.com, border officials, and GOP members of the House Economic Subcommittee that her parents had sent her to travel for two months from El Salvador to come to the border.
She was fluent in English, having spent five years in the United States until her family was forced to return home owing to ‘visa issues.’
Amy, who appeared unaffected by her perilous trek, explained that she had been traveling with her cousin but that they had become separated along the way. She was unconcerned because she knew they’d be reunited at her aunt’s house in Tennessee once they’d been processed.
Amy said she had not traveled with a trafficker but had found other migrants to walk with on the route, coming up to agents in a group of around 12, largely unaccompanied children and about three adults, clutching her birth document, a phone, and a charger. ‘Babies got separated from their mothers along the road,’ she explained.
After the tour, Donald Trump slammed Biden for never having visited the border. ‘I know he likes to brag about how safe our border is all across the country and around the world.’ That, however, is a falsehood, and everyone is aware of it. The drug cartels are the ones who know the most about it.’
‘This is [Rep. Cammack’s] sixth trip, and this is my fourth. We’re freshmen who have only recently arrived. The president has been in office longer than I have, but he has never visited this country. ‘That is self-evident.’
Biden said in a town hall meeting in October 2021 that he had visited the southern border, although there is no record of this.
Republicans claimed Biden needed to tighten the asylum process, keep building the border wall, and increase funds for the Department of Homeland Security.
Meanwhile, thousands of migrants are camped out on the Mexican side of the border, waiting for their chance to enter, for Title 42 to be lifted, or for their asylum claim to be processed via the 400,000-case backlog.
On May 23, the Biden administration planned to suspend Title 42, the CDC’s public health order that allowed for immediate deportation, but that decision was overturned the day before in a court dispute.
Unaccompanied minors are permitted to enter the nation. Families are frequently processed under Title 8 and granted asylum, after which they are released into the United States and directed to their local jurisdiction for a court date, or advised to wait in Mexico.
Pastor Joshua Muse, who built and manages the Kaleo family shelter in Reynosa, Mexico, after observing a desperate need for migrants there earlier this year, said that the most important thing he needs from the US and Mexican governments is transparency.
‘I believe the public is simply waiting for a clear explanation, one way or the other,’ he said. ‘The most essential thing I would advise anyone on either the Mexican or American side to do is to be unambiguous with their messaging.’ That, I believe, is what people require.’