In his weekly column, Fourth District Congressman Bruce Westerman talked about immigration and the need for a barrier at the southern border.
I recently lead a congressional delegation to McCallen, Texas to see the results of the immigration crisis happening at our southern border. What we witnessed was shocking.
The make-shift facility we visited encounters roughly 4,000 migrants per day. The Border Patrol agents were completely overwhelmed and outnumbered. The stories of human trafficking victim’s abuse by the cartels were heartbreaking. These evil cartels have created a multi-billion dollar industry that exploits children and families, and our Border Patrol does not have the capacity to address it.
The clear solution is a barrier along our southern border, a measure I have always supported. The barrier would direct migrants to multiple access points so agents can easily process migrants and uncover any drug and human trafficking. We also need a more effective legal immigration system based on merit and the needs of the American economy to properly and efficiently allow as many legal immigrants as possible.
So many of these immigrants are looking for a better way of life away from the violence of the cartels and the abject poverty of their homelands, and I am grateful that we have a nation that is so attractive to others, but we cannot allow lawlessness to overwhelm our borders where drug smuggling and human trafficking go unchecked.
