Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and more than 60 House Republicans are visiting the U.S.-Mexico border Wednesday in an attempt to raise awareness of the ongoing migrant crisis under President Joe Biden.
Johnson and his fellow conference members will visit Eagle Pass, Texas, and are expected to demand that Biden and the Democrats agree to strict new immigration policies to stop the flow of migrants into the country, The New York Times reported.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics show that in November there were 242,418 migrant encounters. That's the third-highest official number since the crisis began in late January 2021.
A CBP source told Newsmax on Monday that in December there were about 302,000 encounters at the southern border, surpassing the monthly record of 269,735 set in September.
The lawmakers' visit to the border comes as Senate Republicans and Democrats struggle to reach an agreement on an emergency spending bill that would send more than $50 billion in military assistance to Ukraine.
House Republicans and some GOP Senate members have demanded sweeping immigration changes in exchange for their support of the supplemental legislation.
"This situation requires significant policy changes and House Republicans will continue advocating for real solutions that actually secure our border," Johnson said Tuesday in a post on X.
A spokesperson for the speaker said Biden has been "derelict in his duty to protect" the border.
"While the president requests more funds — not to stop illegal immigration — but to process more illegal immigrants through their 'catch and release' policy, he has undermined security at every turn," spokesperson Raj Shah said, Politico reported.
"From his decision to rescind the Remain in Mexico policy to the widespread abuse of the parole and asylum systems, there is a direct line between this administration's reckless policies and the record 300,000 illegal immigrants encountered at the Southern border last month."
The White House, meanwhile, is placing blame for the migrant surge on the GOP.
Biden's team has argued that Republicans have rejected a supplemental funding package that included money to hire new border agents, asylum officers, and immigration judges, as well as technology to combat the flow of fentanyl, Politico reported.
"On Day One, President Biden proposed a comprehensive immigration reform plan and followed up by delivering record border security funding every single year of his term," White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement.
"House Republicans have obstructed his reform proposal and consistently voted against his unprecedented border security funding year after year, hamstringing our border security in the name of extreme, partisan demands."
However, a Pew Research Center survey late last year found that only 32% of U.S. adults were confident in the president's ability to make "wise decisions about immigration policy."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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